Noam Shalit to urge U.S.: Condition peace talks on Gilad's release

Noam Shalit, father of captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit left Israel on Monday for the United States, where he will meet with Jewish community leaders and Obama administration officials to garner support for his son's release.

The campaign to free Gilad Shalit has printed a statement that during the trip, Shalit will attempt to send a message to the Obama administration asking that Gilad's release be a precondition to any future advancement in Israeli-Palestinian talks.

"Noam will emphasize the demand to see a substantial, concrete sign of life from Gilad as soon as possible, in addition to a greater role for the International Red Cross, which is not performing its obligations in this matter," the statement read.

Shimshon Libman, one of the leaders of the free Gilad Shalit campaign, said "the United States is exerting pressure on Israel and the Palestinians, and therefore, it's important to put the issue of Gilad on the daily agenda of the Americans."

"The new U.S. administration has signaled that it intends to exert pressure on different issues, including the opening of border crossings and other issues of importance to Hamas and the Palestinians. Therefore, it is important that we forge a connection between those issues and securing a concrete sign of life from Gilad," Lipman added.

Shalit's trip to the states is his first serious effort taken since he returned with his wife and kids over a month ago from a protest tent they had set up outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.

Since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister, the Shalit family and the Free Gilad Shalit organization have not taken any organized actions aimed at Gilad's release. On Passover night, Netanyahu met with the Shalit family and a few days ago an official message was released announcing the resignation of Ofer Dekel, the former head of negotiations for the release of Gilad.

The family and the organization has not hidden their disappointment that Shalit's release was not secured before former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert left office, with the assumption being that under a new Israeli government, diplomatic efforts launched under Olmert to return Shalit will have to start anew from scratch.

	Noam Shalit.
	Photo by: Tess Scheflan