JERUSALEM (AFP) — The father of a soldier captured by Palestinian gunmen two years ago blasted the Israeli government for failing to do enough to release his son, in an interview published on Thursday.
"This is a banana republic," Noam Shalit told the Yediot Aharonot in an interview the newspaper said was given before agreement was reached on a Gaza truce that went into effect on Thursday.
Gilad Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006 in a bloody cross-border raid by militants from three Palestinian movements, including the armed wing of Hamas which now runs the Gaza Strip.
"At first, I was certain that everything was being done to bring Gilad back. As time passes and nothing happens, I am taking off the gloves," said Noam Shalit.
"We are told that Gilad is Hamas's insurance certificate... We told the prime minister that if we don't pay the price for his release now, we will have to pay to bring back his body," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made it clear on Tuesday the fate of Shalit, now 21, was part of the truce deal.
"Regarding Corporal Gilad Shalit, his release is an inseparable part of the understandings regarding the terms of the calm," he said.
Israel has also made it clear that a reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, Gaza's only link to the outside world that bypasses Israel, would be linked to the release of Shalit.
"If Gilad Shat is not released, the Rafah crossing will not reopen," top defence ministry official Amos Gilad told the Ynet news website.
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