Shalit family gives Carter letter for Gilad
(Video) Captive soldier's father meets with former US president, asks him to pass on letter to son who was kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza Strip 1,083 days ago. Noam Shalit estimates letter to reach its destination within several days
VIDEO - Kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit's father met Friday afternoon with former US President Jimmy Carter, who is holding a round of talks in the region. During the meeting the guest was given a letter from Noam and Aviva Shalit, which he plans to try to pass on to the captive.
Asked about the content of the letter at the end of the meeting, Noam Shalit said, "It's uncustomary to reveal the content of the letter before it is received by the addresses," said Shalit, adding that he assumed he would be able to talk about it within a few days.
He added that he hoped "Carter's ties with Hamas will also help in this case".
The two met at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem for about 45 minutes. The former American president arrived in Israel as a representative of the Carter Center, which was founded after he ended his tenure at the White House and works to advance world health and peace.
About a year ago, Carter delivered a letter from Gilad Shalit to his family, in which the kidnapped soldier begged to be released. That was the fourth sign of life from Shalit after two letters and an audio tape.
Shalom for Shalit
Alongside the stalemate in the negotiations with Hamas, the efforts to release Shalit continue. On Thursday, Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom asked the UN secretary-general's special envoy to the Middle East, Robert Seri, to work to obtain information on the soldier's fate.Noam and Aviva Shalit met about 10 days ago with Hagai Hadas, who was has been appointed the prime minister's special envoy on the Shalit case. The father told reporters following the meeting that he believed there was no reason for high hopes in regards to the chances to release his son from captivity.
"We met the man. We introduced ourselves. A one-hour meeting cannot give us hope," he said.
Meanwhile, the civilian initiatives to advance the Shalit case continued this week. Some 120 yeshiva students from Raanan marched to the Prime Minister's Office calling for the soldier's release. The students and their teachers ended the journey with a prayer at the Western Wall, under the banner: "Our brother Gilad, we won't forget."
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped into the Gaza Strip 1,083 days ago.
