Akram Abdullah Kassem, one of the prisoners released in Gaza, said he was happy to be free after 10 years in custody, but saddened by the fellow prisoners he left behind.
“I’m demanding to the resistance not to spare any effort to kidnap more soldiers,” he said Tuesday. “The Jews only understand one language — the language of force.”
Sana Shehade, 36, one of the 27 women freed as part of the deal, called Shalit “my token to freedom.”
She said that as Shalit’s mother delighted in the reunion, she should keep in mind that there are thousands of “Palestinian mothers waiting to hold their sons.”
As the first images of the freed soldier were broadcast on Israeli television Tuesday morning, the prevailing mood among Israelis was a sense of relief. It was readily apparent, however, that the deal to swap Shalit for so many captured Palestinian militants came with significant risks.
“Today, we are all united in joy and pain,” Netanyahu told reporters at the Tel Nof air base, south of Tel Aviv, moments after Shalit was reunited with his family. He said the state had been compelled to sign off on the prisoner swap to retrieve a soldier “Israel had sent to the battlefield.”
As Shalit returned home Tuesday night, thousands of Israelis formed a human chain along the road that leads to his house. Some waved Israeli flags and held flowers, Israeli news footage showed.
A family spokeswoman said his mother, Aviva, had purchased all the ingredients to make his favorite meals. The soldier’s grandfather, Zvi Shalit, told Israeli media that Shalit appeared healthier than relatives feared he would be, but was in need of rest.
“Gilad spoke very quietly and said he was tired and wanted to sleep,” the grandfather said.
Special correspondents Samuel Sockol in Jerusalem, Islam Abdel Kareem in the Gaza Strip and Sufian Taha in Ramallah contributed to this report.
Loading...
Comments