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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Letter from Shalit given to family |
| 2006-09-16 |
| GAZA: A letter written by abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was given to his family by Gaza militants in a potential breakthrough after nearly three months in captivity, a source involved in the talks said on Friday. The letter written in Shalit's handwriting is the first tangible sign of life since militants from the governing Hamas group and two other factions seized him in a cross-border raid on June 25, prompting an Israeli offensive. "The abducted soldier wrote the letter by his own handwriting to his parents telling them he is fine and well," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The source said the letter was handed to Egyptian mediators in Gaza, who then handed it over to Shalit's family. The letter appears to have been written earlier this week, the source said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, declined to comment. The letter could be a sign of progress in efforts to free Shalit. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Isreal negotiating with terrorists is undermining them. They needed to go ballistic and take the Hamas so-called legislators and take them out one-by-one, then their offices, and systematically destroy them. Then they would get Shalit back, or they would not have to worry about this kidnapping nonsense any more. Now they are trying to make deals, just like their enemies have done in the desert for many centuries. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-09-16 12:01 |
| #3 Sadly, I expect that Shalit's father may have good reason to feel this way. The two of them may have established a code or some other means of communicating the timeliness of any such contact. Should Shalit have been killed by his captors, may another 1,000 Palestinaians know the foolhardiness of such extortion. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-16 02:57 |
| #2 Galit's Father: No Sign Son Is Alive The father of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants nearly three months ago said Friday he has received no sign of life from his son. Noam Shalit declined to respond directly to reports in the Palestinian newspaper Al Ayyam that the militants holding his son, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, had passed a letter written by the soldier to Egyptian mediators, who then delivered it to the family. However, Noam Shalit told The Associated Press on Friday that he had not received any sign of life from his son since the soldier was captured June 25. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-16 00:46 |
| #1 If Shalit's letter does not mention any developments from the last several weeks, assume he is dead. However much I want him returned alive, I still cannot believe he is. Palestinians would just as soon use a fairy godmother promising independence for target practice than ever keep a captive Jew alive for more than five minutes. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-16 00:41 |