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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israeli protestors shut down Gaza crossing |
| 2008-10-20 |
| Thousands of Israelis on Sunday protested their government's failure to recover a captured soldier near the site where he was seized on the edge of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Three thousand demonstrators gathered at the site, according to Israeli police, with many of the demonstrators wearing shirts bearing the portrait of the 21-year-old reservist and the caption "Gilad Shalit is still alive." The crowds held banners reading "Gilad Shalit, we have been waiting for you for two years," and "No more Ron Arad, Free Gilad," referring to an Israeli airman who disappeared in south Lebanon in 1986. Protestors began gathering at the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing -- one of the main goods terminals supplying the besieged Gaza Strip -- in the early hours, burning tyres and forced the army to delay the crossing's opening. The crossing was eventually allowed to open, allowing some 80 trucks to bring food and medical aid into the impoverished territory of 1.5 million people, which has been ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since June 2007. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israeli army radio every effort is being made to bring Shalit home but warned that such demonstrations could "raise the price of his release" by encouraging Hamas to increase its demands. Hamas wants the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit, who was seized by Gaza militants in a deadly cross-border raid in June 2006. Noam Shalit, father of the missing soldier and the public face of the campaign for his release, rejected Barak's comments. "The government had almost two and a half years to bring Gilad back without demonstrations and without protests, but failed to do so," Shalit told the Ynet news service on his way to the rally. Israel has sealed Gaza off to all but limited humanitarian aid since June 2007 when Hamas seized power after routing forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Dad's got it about right. Let those POS eat rockets, bomb belts and AK rounds till they're hungry and sick enough to trade straight up for a few tons of aid. |
| Posted by: Last Breath Farm Resident 2008-10-20 18:52 |
| #1 good too see that the Israeli citizens are realizing their governments failing ways of ddealing with the paleos |
| Posted by: chris 2008-10-20 10:51 |