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Reservists: If we're captured, don't negotiate for our bodies
"If we are captured by the enemy, we ask that the state of Israel does not release many hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for our freedom," Israel Defense Forces reserves soldiers wrote in a letter addressed to the IDF chief of staff, channel 2 reported Tuesday. The reservists, members of a decorated infantry battalion, are slated to be the first soldiers to enter enemy territory should Israel decide to carry out a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to Channel 2, the letter will be handed to IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi only when such an operation begins. The soldiers and officers emphasize in the letter that they are "ready to sit in an enemy prison for as long as it takes," and demand that Israel refrain from paying a high price for their freedom. The soldiers also ask that no negotiations be held over their dead bodies or parts of their dead bodies. Earlier this month, the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah handed over to Israel the remains of several IDF soldiers, in what some viewed as efforts to advance a prisoner exchange. Channel 2 also reported Tuesday that former United States president Jimmy Carter was launching efforts to get a letter to captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, from his parents. A letter apparently written by Shalit, who was captured by Palestinian militants in 2006, was transferred through the Carter Center to his family on Monday. The Shalit family declined to make public the contents of the letter they received, but said that Gilad begged for his life in it and asked that Israel cooperate and take action to secure his release. Posted by: tu3031 2008-06-12 |
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