Petition calls for prisoner swap; Schalit’s parents have lobbied the 120 MKs in the Knesset in the last weeks.
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Only 27 parliamentarians have signed a petition by the parents of captive soldier Gilad Schalit, which calls for a prisoner swap in exchange for the young man’s release.Schalit’s parents, Noam and Aviva, have lobbied the 120 MKs in the Knesset in the last weeks, asking that they support a 2009 deal by a German mediator by which Gilad would be freed in exchange for the release of 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners.Legislators who support a prisoner swap, however, have been loath to sign the document out of fear that it would hamper the government’s ability to finalize a deal for Gilad’s release.Three MKs, Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), Miri Regev (Likud) and Eitan Cabel (Labor) have sponsored the petition.A spokesman for the Gilad Schalit family said Schalit’s parents had not finished their lobby efforts.Gilad, 24, has been held in Gaza by Hamas since he was kidnapped in June 2006, while patrolling the Gaza border with his tank unit.