Israel has refused demands from Shalit’s kidnappers to release Palestinian prisoners in return for information about the missing soldier. Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing its operations in Gaza even as it pounds the militant Lebanese-based Hizbullah group for launching a similar raid that left eight more soldiers dead and two others in captivity last week.
As the spotlight shifted away from the missing Shalit, his family waited anxiously for news in their home in Mitzpe Hila, a small village just a few miles from the border with Lebanon. For the past week, they have been exposed to continuous Katyusha rocket attacks from Hizbullah. NEWSWEEK’s Joanna Chen spoke with Gilad’s father, Noam Shalit, about his fears for his captive son and his hopes for a solution. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: The focus has switched from Gaza to the northern border of Israel and Lebanon. Are you worried that your son’s plight is no longer top of the Israeli government’s list?
Noam Shalit: I know that no one has forgotten about my Gilad, but realistically I realize the national agenda is focusing on the crisis in northern Israel.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received the news that two more Israeli soldiers had been captured while you were sitting with him in his Jerusalem office.
We were in the middle of a meeting with Olmert to discuss Gilad’s predicament when people began passing notes around the room. By the look on Olmert’s face we realized something serious had happened. The prime minister told us straight away, he didn’t attempt to hide it from us. It was very strange, we felt the cards were being reshuffled again.
What do you think of Prime Minister Olmert’s handling of Gilad’s case?
I know he’s doing his best to make progress in an impossibly difficult situation. It’s ironic that before this crisis Olmert declared he would release a number of Palestinian prisoners as a humanitarian gesture for [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas. They would have been released by now if this hadn’t happened. I’m not a Middle East expert, but I do understand that, like it or not, the two crises are interconnected and most probably a solution for all prisoner issues will be jointly reached.
Under the present conditions, what do you think should be done to get your son back?
My position is that no direct negotiations are possible right now, but there are other diplomatic channels that should be pursued. The Egyptians want to help us, and I think we should accept their help. Regarding Gilad, I believe Hamas must bring a serious, concrete offer to Egyptian mediators. Alternatively, my son should be transferred to the jurisdiction of Abbas and be kept there until prisoners will be released.
Unconfirmed reports say that Gilad is physically in good shape. How do you think he’s coping emotionally?
Gilad is strong, but it’s impossible to know how he’s handling this. I just hope my son will survive.
You’ve asked repeatedly that the Red Cross be allowed to meet with Gilad.
The militants holding Gilad don’t recognize any international entity; they don’t recognize war treaties. We are dealing with gangs who switch places and identities all the time. We don’t even know who they are, only that they are Hamas related.
How do you live with the uncertainty?
It’s tough. We can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and basically just try to get through one day at a time. We’ve tried to return to some kind of a routine, to somehow get through each day and each sleepless night. We miss Gilad more and more as each day goes by.
On a local radio phone-in two weeks ago, you spoke to Hamas representatives in Gaza and Syria.
I called upon Hamas to end this crisis because our family is suffering and thousands of innocent Palestinian families are suffering too. So many Palestinians have been injured and killed since Gilad was taken captive and so much hardship has been inflicted on the Palestinian people who are now living without regular supplies of electricity, water and food. I asked what good will come of this? Do they want to throw us all into the sea? We want to leave Gaza, Israel has no intention of reconquering it. Regarding the prisoner issue, both sides should return immediately to the negotiating table. I told them, you can’t achieve anything with terror, with kidnappings, with rockets, they just frighten people. Nothing will ever be decided in the battlefield.
Did Gilad speak to you about his army service?
I can tell you he wasn’t afraid, he’d only been posted on the border with Gaza for two months. And we weren’t afraid either because he was supposed to be finishing there and moving to a different area. We thought he’d be closer to home.
When was the last time you saw Gilad?
The morning he left home to return to Gaza after spending a couple of days at home. Gilad loves sports, he spent most of his time watching the World Cup and also got up in the middle of the night to follow the NBA final on TV.
In addition to the anguish over your son, your house is on the northernmost border of Israel.
The IDF [Israeli Defense Force] cannons are stationed close to our village and we can hear booms all the time. We’ve been told by the Home Command to stay in or close to bomb shelters because of the danger. My wife and 16-year-old daughter sometimes go to the shelter for safety, but I must admit I don’t.
What has been the most difficult moment for you?
When the IDF officers came knocking on our door on Sunday morning to tell us that Gilad had been kidnapped. I had to go with them to my wife’s place of work to break the news to her. I felt as if my world was falling apart.
