A teenage Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit was abducted from Israeli territory by Hamas terrorists on June 25, 2006. More than 1,900 days later, Gilad – now 25 years old – is still in captivity. He is held incommunicado, denied even a single visit from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The last time that Gilad’s family heard from him was two years ago. His whereabouts today are unknown.
Holding Gilad Shalit hostage under such gruesome conditions is a war crime in blatant violation of international law.
On September 8, 2011, Gilad Shalit’s family members made a heartfelt appeal to the United Nations press corps to keep the story of Gilad’s inhumane captivity from being forgotten. “Not a minute goes by that we do not feel the terrible pain of separation from our son,” said Gilad’s father, Noam Shalit. “Not a minute goes by that we do not feel overwhelming anxiety about his well-being and fear for his life.”
On September 7th, Noam Shalit met with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice. Ambassador Rice issued this statement following the meeting:
I expressed to Mr. Shalit the solidarity of the United States with him and his family, and I reiterated our strongest condemnation of his son’s detention. As I have said repeatedly in the UN Security Council, Hamas must immediately and unconditionally release Gilad Shalit.
Rice’s statement is good, as far as it goes. But she should have also singled out Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for criticism. Read the rest on:
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