Schalit family holds protest outside J'lem cabinet meeting

Aviva Schalit holds sign: "Netanyahu, you don't have a mandate to kill Gilad"; Peres to visit soldier's family before Pessah.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Schalit protests 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Schalit protests 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Aviva and Noam Schalit and dozens of other protesters demonstrated outside of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, demanding that the government advance efforts to release captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.
Ministers who arrived by car at the meeting were greeted by demonstrators, who said they intend to stay outside of the government compound until the end of the session.
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At the protest, Aviva Schalit was holding a sign that read: "Netanyahu, you don't have a mandate to kill Gilad," Israel Radio reported.
President Shimon Peres was scheduled to visit with the Schalits on Monday in a show of solidarity.
The Schalits have over time met with both Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but those meetings were conducted in the offices or residences of the two leaders.
Meanwhile, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday encouraged Palestinians to support an agreement to release Palestinian prisoners in Israel in exchange for the release of Schalit, Ma'an News Agency reported.
Speaking at a session of the Hamas parliamentary bloc in commemoration of "Prisoner's Day," Haniyeh stated that the resistance would not disappoint Palestinians and the prisoners' families.
He added that the Hamas government supported the demands of Schalit's captors, which, if met, would be a new victory for Palestinians, Ma'an reported.
Hamas sources last week said they are "positively considering releasing a new tape of Gilad Schalit, but Israel will have to pay a price for it," reported Army Radio.
Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report