Schalits ‘have no faith in those supposed to free Gilad’

Father of kidnapped soldier responds to reports that German negotiator reportedly visited Gaza three times with new ideas.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Noam Schalit 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Noam Schalit 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Noam Schalit, father captive soldier Gilad Schalit, said Thursday that his family had lost all belief in everyone involved in bringing about his son’s release.
He said that any belief the family may have had, had disappeared a long time ago in light of the lack of results their efforts had yielded.
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Schalit made the remarks during an Israel Radio interview in which he responded to reports that a German mediator had visited Gaza to discuss the release of his son.
Schalit said he hoped Hamas and the government would “regain their composure” and work out a deal that would bring about Gilad’s release after almost five years.
However, he added that his family had not been in contact with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the last four months. In any event, Schalit said, the family did not want meetings, but actions.
Gerhard Conrad, the German negotiator for the captive soldier’s release, visited Gaza earlier this week, according to a report in the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat.
Conrad reportedly suggested new ideas to Hamas that could lead to Gilad Schalit’s return to Israel, but to no avail.
Israel Radio quoted a Hamas source as saying that Conrad had visited Gaza three times in the last three months, including a visit that took place on Wednesday.