The President of the ECAJ Dr Danny Lamm, welcomed the announcement on Tuesday by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, that an agreement has been concluded under which Gilad Shalit will be released after five years in captivity, together with another Israeli held by the Egyptians for alleged espionage.
“We greet this news with great joy for Gilad and the Shalit family, tinged with sadness at the distress which will inevitably be caused to the families of those who were murdered by some of the terrorists who are also to be released under the agreement”, Dr Lamm said.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu was right when he said that there is an inbuilt tension between the desire to bring back an abducted soldier, or citizen, and the need to maintain Israel’s deterrence for the security of all its citizens. People may debate whether the decision he reached achieves the right balance between those competing considerations. But ultimately he was the one elected by Israelis to make that call,” Dr Lamm said.
Dr Lamm noted that the Egyptian government and Egyptian Intelligence Services helped to broker the agreement, stating, “Their willingness to assist is an encouraging development in the post-Mubarak era.”
He concluded: “As we enter Succot we can give thanks that after five long years of being held incommunicado in violation of the laws and customs of war, Gilad will at long last be returned to the arms of his family. Each of us has family and we can all relate to the joy that will be felt by Gilad’s parents Aviva and Noam, his brother Yoel, his sister Hadas, his grandfather Zvi, and the entire people of Israel”.
“We greet this news with great joy for Gilad and the Shalit family, tinged with sadness at the distress which will inevitably be caused to the families of those who were murdered by some of the terrorists who are also to be released under the agreement”, Dr Lamm said.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu was right when he said that there is an inbuilt tension between the desire to bring back an abducted soldier, or citizen, and the need to maintain Israel’s deterrence for the security of all its citizens. People may debate whether the decision he reached achieves the right balance between those competing considerations. But ultimately he was the one elected by Israelis to make that call,” Dr Lamm said.
Dr Lamm noted that the Egyptian government and Egyptian Intelligence Services helped to broker the agreement, stating, “Their willingness to assist is an encouraging development in the post-Mubarak era.”
He concluded: “As we enter Succot we can give thanks that after five long years of being held incommunicado in violation of the laws and customs of war, Gilad will at long last be returned to the arms of his family. Each of us has family and we can all relate to the joy that will be felt by Gilad’s parents Aviva and Noam, his brother Yoel, his sister Hadas, his grandfather Zvi, and the entire people of Israel”.
