After over three years in which IDF St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit has been held in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, Israel breathed a sigh of relief on Friday afternoon after video footage of the captive soldier was released to the media and aired on Israeli television channels.
Click on the image (or the link below) to watch the clip. A version with English subtitles will appear shortly.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1194419829128&pagename=JPost%2FPage%2FVideoPlayer&videoId=1254393084258http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd_iMYv7M8E
The two-minute long clip shows Schalit addressing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his parents Noam and Aviva, telling them he is being treated well by the Hamas and is in good health, but yearning for the day on which he will see his family again. Schalit is seen clean shaven with a fresh haircut, wearing dark green clothes.
The video was received in return for the release of 20 Palestinian female prisoners. Israel released 19 of them on Friday morning, 18 to the West Bank and one to Gaza. The 20th prisoner will be released Sunday, after it turned out that a prisoner released Wednesday was finishing her sentence anyway and would therefore be released regardless of the deal.
Following is the full transcript of Schalit's video message:
"Hello, I am Gilad, son of Noam and Aviva Schalit, brother of Hadas and Yoel, who lives in Mitzpe Hila. My ID number is 300097029.
"As you see I am holding in my hands the Palestine newspaper of September 14, 2009, published in Gaza. I am reading the paper in order to find information regarding myself, hoping to find some information from which I would learn of my release and upcoming return home. I have been hoping and waiting for the day of me release for a long time. I hope the current government under Binyamin Netanyahu will not waste the chance to finalize a deal, and I will therefore be able to finally have my dream come true and be released.
"I wish to send regards to my family and say to them that I love and miss them and yearn for the day in which I would see them again.
"Dad, Yoel and Hadas, do you remember the day when you visited my base on the Golan Heights on December 31st, 2005, that if I am not mistaken was called Revaya B. We walked around the base and you took photos of me on the Merkava tank and on one of the old tanks at the entrance to the base. We then went to a restaurant in one of the Druse villages and on the way we took photos on the side of the road with the snow-capped Mount Hermon in the background.
"I wish to say to you that I feel good, health-wise, and the Mujahadeen of the Izzadien al-Qassam Brigades are treating me very well. Thank you and goodbye."
In the footage, Schalit addresses the camera directly, and at one point walks up to the camera and then returns to his chair. He also appears relaxed, not terrified. Channel 10 TV commentators said Jerusalem had demanded that Schalit get up and take a few steps to prove he was able-bodied. The details about his family's visit to his military base, they said, were meant to prove the man reading the text was not an impostor.
By 12:30, Netanyahu's appointee on the Schalit case, Hagai Hadas, reached the Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem with the footage. Hadas and IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi had already reviewed the footage and approved the release of the prisoners, indicating that the video fulfilled Israel's demands, namely that the video was at least a minute long, recent and showed Schalit talking.
OC Manpower Division Maj.-Gen. Avi Zamir arrived by helicopter with a copy of the video at the Schalit residence in Mitzpe Hila, where he was scheduled to view the video with the family.
Noam Schalit said before viewing the tape that the family eagerly awaits it.
The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement following the release of the clip.
"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu watched the video of Gilad Schalit in his office and has spoken with Noam Schalit," a statement read by the prime minister's media spokesman said.
"The prime minister believes the importance of the tape is in putting the responsibility for Gilad's health and wellbeing squarely on Hamas's shoulders. The prime minister says that even though the the release of Schalit is still far from us, the video is an encouraging sign," the statement continued.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke with Noam Schalit and Zvi Schalit, Gilad's grandfather, at around 2 p.m., just minutes after the family viewed the video, according to a statement issued by Barak's office.
The defense minister told the Schalits "I want to hug you. Gilad looks healthy, and this fact only further puts into focus my own responsibility and the responsibility of all of us to bring him home."
A statement issued by the Elysee Palace in Paris called for the "immediate, unconditional release of Schalit." Schalit holds dual Israeli-French citizenship and his father Noam has been lobbying with French President Nicholas Sarkozy to help in securing the release of his son.
Gilad Schalit has been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip for 1,195 days.
by Gil Ronen Tishrei 14, 5770 / October 2, '09 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133672
(IsraelNN.com) On Friday, authorities completed the exchange deal in which a video proving that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive was swapped for the freedom of 20 female Palestinian Authority terrorist prisoners who were jailed in Israel. Vehicles from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) took the female prisoners to freedom in Judea, Samaria and Gaza once the Shalit video was handed over by Hamas terrorists.
Israeli negotiator Haggai Hadas watched the video after receiving it from Hamas. Copies of the video have been taken to the Shalit family and to the Prime Minister and were aired on Israeli TV. According to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew service, Shalit appears to be healthy and is talking clearly. He is clean shaven, his hair is well-groomed.
The videotape lasts 2:42 minutes and shows Shalit sitting on a plastic chair, holding a newspaper from September 14 and reading a written text with a level tone and a shy half-smile.
He sends his love to his family, and says: "I have been hoping and waiting for a long time for the day I will be released. I hope that the current government, headed by Binyamin Netanyahu, does not now lose the opportunity for sealing the deal and as a result that I will be able at last to fulfill my dream and go free."
Hamas Television was broadcasting victory songs Friday morning as a preliminary phase of a deal for the release of Shalit took place.
The deal involves the release of 20 female terrorist prisoners from Israeli jails, in return for a one minute video of Shalit talking.
Hamas TV also exhorted the public in Gaza to participate in celebrations of the prisoners' release after the Friday prayers.
At about 9:30 am, vehicles belonging to the Nachshon prison security unit began transporting the female prisoners from the Hadarim jail north of Tel Aviv to Ofer prison near Jerusalem and Shikma prison in Ashkelon. At the same time, Red Cross vehicles arrived at the jails. After the security establishment gave the go-ahead, the one terrorist being released to Gaza were handed over to the Red Cross at the Erez crossing, and the 18 others who are being released to Judea and Samaria were handed over to the Red Cross at the Bitunia checkpoint.
The Head of IDF's Personnel Branch flew by helicopter to the Shalit family's home in Mitzpeh Hila in the Galilee, where he was presented them with a copy of the tape.
The video can also be viewed here. on WeJew
The list does not include any prisoners with blood on their hands and all those on the list were set for release within less than two years.
1 ) Ayat Kisi - Sentenced to one year and eight months for attempted murder. Original release date: November 18, 2009.
2) Rojena Riyad Mohammed Jinajira - Sentenced to three years for conspiracy and attempted murder. Original release date: June 9, 2011.
3) Rimat abu Ayisha - Sentenced to nine months for membership in a banned organization. Original release date: November 13, 2009.
4) Haba Assad Halil Alantasha - Sentenced to three years and four months for attempted murder. Original release date: March 03, 2011.
5) Samud Abdullah Halil - Sentenced to one year and eight months for attacking a soldier and possession of a knife with the intent to cause bodily harm. Original release date: December 15, 2009.
6) Mimouna Javrin - Detained without bail pending trial for attempted murder and possession of a weapon with the intent to cause bodily harm.
7) Jihad Abu-Turki - Sentenced to one year and three months for attempted murder and possession of a weapon with the intent to cause bodily harm. Original release date: May 24, 2011.
8) Barah Malki - Sentenced to eleven months for attempted murder and assault of a police officer in the line of duty. Original release date: November 11, 2009.
9) Lila Mohammed Tzalah al-Buhari - Sentenced to eight years and four months for attempted murder. Original release date: October 31, 2010.
10) Fatima Yunus al-Zak - Held without bail pending trial for charges of undergoing paramilitary training, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon.
11) Nifin Halil Abdallah Dak - sentenced to three and a half years for attempted murder. Original release date: January 01, 2010.
12) Kafah Bahash - Sentenced to a year and a half for assaulting a soldier. Original release date: July 02, 2010.
13) Linan Yusuf Abu Ghulma - Sentenced to six years for attempted murder and carrying a concealed weapon. Original release date: September 08, 2010.
14) Shirin Mohammed Hasan - Sentenced to three years and nine months for attempted murder. Original release date: March 04, 2010.
15) Sana'a Tzalah Hagargah - Sentenced to two years in prison for attempted murder and possession of a weapon. Original release date: August 05, 2010.
16) Sabeena Ziad Mohammed Manal - Sentenced to seven years for membership in a banned organization, conspiracy and attempted murder. Original release date: November 19, 2010.
17) Zahoor Abed Hamdan - Sentenced to eight years for attempted murder. Original release date: May 15, 2011.
18) Hiam Ahmed Yusuf Ba'id - Sentenced to three years and four months for membership in a banned organization. Original release date: May 07, 2010.
19) Nahad Farhat Daghra - Held without bail pending trial for assaulting a soldier and possession of a weapon.
20) Najuah Abed Alghani - Held without bail pending trial for membership in an illegal organization and disturbing the peace
He adds that he has been waiting a long time to be released, and expresses his love for his family. Shalit then recounts a personal anecdote from before his abduction, when his family visited him at his IDF army base.
Earlier Friday, Shalit's family approved the broadcast of video footages of their son, saying that Hamas could do what they wanted with the footage, and that they rather control its release rather than Gilad's abductors.
A spokesman for the family told reporters that the family had contacted the Prime Minister's Office, officially permitting the release of the footage to the media.
Prime Minister Netanyahu watched the video of Gilad in his office on Friday. Netanyahu then spoke with Gilad's father, Noam Shalit.
Netanyahu said that the road to freeing Gilad is a long and hard one but the fact that he is healthy is encouraging to everyone.
Local media had earlier quoted Israeli officials as saying that the footage of Shalit showed him to be lucid and in good health.
Senior officers in the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Minister Ehud Barak viewed the video footage, which was handed over by Hamas in Gaza in return for the release of 20 Palestinian woman prisoners jailed in Israel. The video is the first of Shalit since his capture in June 2006.
The video arrived at the Mitzpe Hila home of the Shalit family later Friday, who reportedly viewed the footage together.
A spokesman for the family approached reporters after the family had viewed the video, saying that the family would not respond to the footage on that day.
The family then received a phone call from minister Barak, who spoke to Gilad's father Noam and grandfather Tzvi.
Barak encouraged the Shalit family, adding that "Gilad looks healthy, a fact which only strengthens my resolve, as well as everyone else's to bring him back home."
The video is apparently 2 minutes and 40 seconds long, and was recorded on September 14. China's Xinhua news agency said Thursday that the video shows Shalit in civilian dress against the background of a banner emblazoned with the logo of Hamas' military wing.
"The tape clearly shows that the captive soldier enjoys a good health and show[s] no sign of wounds," Xinhua's English edition quoted a source in Gaza as saying.
Shalit was captured by Gaza-based militants in 2006, during a cross-border raid. Red Cross officials have been denied permission to see the soldier.
Israel ordered the release of 19 Palestinian woman prisoners on Friday after it had verified that the video had indeed met its demands.
Members of the Israeli negotiating team for Shalit's release viewed the footage to ensure it met Israel's demands - primarily with regard to how recently it was filmed. The Israeli media reported that a copy of the video was also to be dispatched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As soon as it was determined that the video did indeed meet requirements, the Palestinian prisoners were transferred to Red Cross vehicles which finalized their release by transporting them over the border with the West Bank.
The 19 prisoners, most of the total of 20 expected to be released in the deal, left Hadarim Prison near Netanya at 9:30 A.M. and arrived at the Ofer and Shikma detention facilities ahead of their final release.
The last prisoner will be released only on Sunday, due to an error by the Israel Prisons Service. It emerged that one of the women slated for release under the deal had in fact already been released on Wednesday, after having a third deducted from her sentence for good behavior. Therefore, Israel must now find a substitute.
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