The parents of captive soldier Gilad Shalit asked Israel’s top court to block the Gaza Strip cease-fire.
Noam and Aviva Shalit filed a petition with the High Court of Justice Saturday night demanding that Israel hold off on opening Gaza’s border crossings until a deal is in place to release their son.
Under the truce with Hamas, which was brokered by Cairo, Israel is gradually stepping up commercial imports to Gaza and may agree to the territory’s border with Egypt being opened in the future.
In their petition, the Shalits argued that such gestures will increase the risk of Gilad, a tank crewman who was abducted in a border raid almost two years ago, being spirited out of Gaza by his captors.
They invoked the case of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman who bailed out over Lebanon in 1986 and is believed to have disappeared into captivity in Iran.
Israel has said it will condition the opening of Gaza’s southern border on progress in talks on retrieving Shalit, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this week to discuss the issue.
Hamas has demanded that Israel free hundreds of jailed Palestinian terrorists in exchange for Shalit. Israel has balked at some of the names on the release roster but signaled it could relax its criteria.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
