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Last update - 10:48 23/07/2008
Hundreds turn out for Tel Aviv rally in honor of Gilad Shalit
By Yuval Azoulay and Jack Khoury
Tags: gaza, hamas, israel 

Hundreds of people gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening at a rally in honor of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was kidnapped by Palestinian militants in June 2006 and has been held captive in the Gaza Strip for over two years.

Shalit's company was discharged Tuesday after formally completing their three years of mandatory service. Their first steps as reservists were to walk the nine kilometers that separate the Bakum base in Tel Hashomer from the Defense Minister's Bureau in the Kirya military compound in the heart of Tel Aviv.
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Shalit's comrades met with Ehud Barak and asked him - as someone who once served as a commanding officer - to work toward achieving their friend's release. They said that the meeting was pleasant, and that Barak told them efforts are underway to secure Shalit's freedom.

They added that Barak told them part of the process was being conducted secretly to prevent it from being subject to sabotage.

Shalit's comrades will continue to urge Israel's leadership to bring Shalit back alive - and at any cost.

"We are not launching a public campaign to fight for his release," said Shalit's commander Dagan Shochar. "We want to give the government and decision makers the strength and the encouragement to do the right thing by Gilad, after they made a very important move last week when they brought back the bodies of Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev."

Shochar referred to two IDF reservists whose bodies were returned in a prisoner swap last week after the Lebanese militia Hezbollah snatched them in a cross border raid over two years ago.

  • The state, not the families
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      1.   The Goldwassers got their bones before Shalit, that`s enough. 21:37  |  S 22/07/08
      2.   Schalit return 01:10  |  abraham cohen 23/07/08
      3.   Schalit return 01:11  |  abraham cohen 23/07/08
      4.   Gilad Shalit is a hero 04:01  |  Conroy 23/07/08
      5.   Noticeably absent 05:06  |  Arie 23/07/08
      6.   A Futile Gesture by Powerless People 15:12  |  JordsanisPalestine 23/07/08
      7.   Terrorists should be treated as war criminals. 15:57  |  Jean Van Daem 23/07/08
      8.   Israel is between a rock and a hard place. 20:28  |  Big Sur 23/07/08
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