UK MPs call for Europe-wide campaign to pressure Red Cross concerning Schalit

British MP Burt: "We are puzzled as to why the Red Cross has not been able to fulfill their role in this case."

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, JPOST CORRESPONDENT, PARIS
schalit in uniform 248.88 (photo credit: Courtesy of Gilad Schalit's family)
schalit in uniform 248.88
(photo credit: Courtesy of Gilad Schalit's family)
Two British MPs called on European parliamentarians late last week to launch a joint campaign to pressure the International Red Cross to do more on behalf of the captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit who is being held by Hamas in Gaza. The proposal was put forward at the Policy Conference of the European Friends of Israel held in Paris on Thursday and Friday, where hundreds of European parliamentarians gathered at the largest Israel policy conference ever held in Europe. The initiative comes two and a half years after Schalit was abducted, and amid increasing concern over his well-being as Egyptian-mediated negotiations for his release have repeatedly stalled. The bi-partisan initiative will see parliamentarians from across Europe and beyond seek meetings with local representatives of the International Red Cross in each of their respective countries on the same day in an effort to pressure the humanitarian group to do more to locate Schalit, said British MP Alistair Burt, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel in the UK and who presented the idea at the conference. "The Red Cross has a historic role to safeguard the rights of captives, and we are puzzled as to why the Red Cross has not been able to fulfill their role in this case," Burt said. The planned initiative will take place next month, he added. The proposed cross-country meetings with Red Cross representative offices was met with enthusiasm from the participating legislators from 42 nations who took part in the conference. "If we do this simultaneously across Europe it will demonstrate how strongly we feel about this issue, and it will get the message out that there is a lot more that they can do," Burt said. He noted that the idea was not meant to turn the Red Cross into villains, or to take any of the responsibility off of Hamas. "The idea is to lobby and put pressure on the Red Cross throughout Europe to get the ball rolling," said British MP Andrew Gwynne, who serves as the chairman of Labor Friends of Israel, adding that both he and his Conservative colleague came to the conference hoping to spread the idea as a bi-partisan venture throughout Europe. Schalit, who holds French citizenship, was kidnapped by Hamas in a cross-border raid into Israel in June 2006, a year after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip. Hamas has refused to allow Schalit any visits by international human rights groups. Two months ago, Hamas allowed the soldier to receive a letter from his family for the first time during his captivity, with the help of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who has been at the forefront of international efforts to secure Schalit's release. Efforts to arrange a prisoner swap have stalled from disagreements between Hamas and Israel over the numbers of Palestinian prisoners Hamas is demanding be released in exchange for Schalit. "With every passing hour, we are more concerned about his fate," Noam Schalit said about his son in an address to the politicians at the conference, which was met with a standing ovation. "Time is of the essence."