Captive video of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier captured in a cross-border kidnapping by Hamas terrorists in 2006, which was released to his parents and later to Israeli media today. See inset in article below for summary translation.

A video of captive Israel Defence Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was broadcast on Israeli television on Thursday, showing the gaunt soldier holding a Palestinian newspaper dated September 14, 2009. In the video, Shalit is seen saying that he was feeling healthy and being treated well by his captors.

In the video, which Israel received from Hamas [on] Friday in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Shalit says that he had been reading newspapers in search of information regarding his situation.

He adds that he has been waiting a long time to be released, and expresses his love for his family. Shalit then recounts a personal anecdote from before his abduction, when his family visited him at his IDF army base.

Earlier Friday, Shalit’s family approved the broadcast of video footage of their son, saying that Hamas could do what they wanted with the footage, and that they rather control its release rather than Gilad’s abductors.

A spokesman for the family told reporters that the family had contacted the Prime Minister’s Office, officially permitting the release of the footage to the media.

Prime Minister Netanyahu watched the video of Gilad in his office on Friday. Netanyahu then spoke with Gilad’s father, Noam Shalit.

Netanyahu said that the road to freeing Gilad is a long and hard one but the fact that he is healthy is encouraging to everyone.

Local media had earlier quoted Israeli officials as saying that the footage of Shalit showed him to be lucid and in good health.

Senior officers in the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Minister Ehud Barak viewed the video footage, which was handed over by Hamas in Gaza in return for the release of 20 Palestinian woman prisoners jailed in Israel. The video is the first of Shalit since his capture in June 2006.

The video arrived at the Mitzpe Hila home of the Shalit family later Friday, who reportedly viewed the footage together.

Summary Translation of the Gilad Shilat hostage video:

“As you can see I am holding today’s Falasteen newspaper published in Gaza.

I read the newspaper in order to find information about myself, and in hopes of reading about information of my return home and my imminent release.”

Gilad then continues: “I hope the current government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t waste this opportunity to reach an agreement and as a result, allow me to fulfill my dream and be released.”

Addressing his parents and siblings, Gilad says: “I wish to send my well-wishes to my family and tell them that I love them and miss them greatly, and hope for the day I’ll see them again. Dad, Yoel, and Hadas, do you remember the day you arrived at my base in the Golan Heights, on December 31, 2005? We toured around the base and you took a picture of me on a Merkava tank and on one of the old tanks at the entrance to the base. Later we went to a restaurant in one of the Druze villages and on the way we took pictures on the side of the road, against the backdrop of the snowy Hermon Mountain.”

“I want to tell you that I feel well in medical terms, and that the Mujahidin from the al-Qassam Brigades are treating me excellently. Thank you very much and goodbye,” Gilad concludes.

Gilad’s parents, Noam and Aviva, watched the tape privately in their home earlier in the day, and later granted the Prime Minister’s Office permission to publicise it.

A spokesman for the family approached reporters after the family had viewed the video, saying that the family would not respond to the footage on that day.

The family then received a phone call from minister Barak, who spoke to Gilad’s father Noam and grandfather Tzvi.

Barak encouraged the Shalit family, adding that “Gilad looks healthy, a fact which only strengthens my resolve, as well as everyone else’s to bring him back home.”

The video is apparently 2 minutes and 40 seconds long, and was recorded on September 14. China’s Xinhua news agency said Thursday that the video shows Shalit in civilian dress against the background of a banner emblazoned with the logo of Hamas’ military wing.

“The tape clearly shows that the captive soldier enjoys a good health and show[s] no sign of wounds,” Xinhua’s English edition quoted a source in Gaza as saying.

Shalit was captured by Gaza-based militants in 2006, during a cross-border raid. Red Cross officials have been denied permission to see the soldier.

Israel ordered the release of 19 Palestinian woman prisoners on Friday after it had verified that the video had indeed met its demands.

Members of the Israeli negotiating team for Shalit’s release viewed the footage to ensure it met Israel’s demands – primarily with regard to how recently it was filmed. The Israeli media reported that a copy of the video was also to be dispatched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As soon as it was determined that the video did indeed meet requirements, the Palestinian prisoners were transferred to Red Cross vehicles which finalised their release by transporting them over the border with the West Bank.

The 19 prisoners, most of the total of 20 expected to be released in the deal, left Hadarim Prison near Netanya at 9:30 A.M. and arrived at the Ofer and Shikma detention facilities ahead of their final release.

The last prisoner will be released only on Sunday, due to an error by the Israel Prisons Service. It emerged that one of the women slated for release under the deal had in fact already been released on Wednesday, after having a third deducted from her sentence for good behavior. Therefore, Israel must now find a substitute.

First of we need to make clear that we are delighted that Gilad Shalit is alive and well and that he appears to have been well treated – as far as one can ever be ‘well-treated’ by terrorist kidnappers.

But we were surprised to say the least at the price that the Israeli administration paid to secure proof-of-life, let alone Gilad’s release (which may not happen until at least the middle of next year anyway – and who knows what could happen between now and then?).

Why did Binyamin Netanyahu (someone we admire and have a lot of time for), feel that he had to release 20 convicted terrorists in order to to obtain an assurance for which the onus is normally on the kidnappers or their intermediaries to provide freely, as a precondition to the commencement of negotiations?

These supposedly ‘low-risk’ female prisoners were all involved in plots that could have led to the deaths of ordinary Israelis had they not been apprehended. Does anyone think that they will not resume their activities the moment they get back home?

But it doesn’t end there – this is only stage one. If stage two is allowed to go ahead and Shalit is to be released, Israel must release a total of 1,000 (yes you heard that right – 1,000) more hardline prisoners, some of whom have committed or been involved in the most heinous crimes, back into ‘Palestine’.

Hands up anyone who thinks they will, once home, disavow terrorism and settle down to a quiet life? Or that Hamas will not be pushing to select their most able lieutenants, bomb-makers, strategists and killers for the next tranche of releases?

Then there is the inevitability that the released criminals will be fêted as heroes in endless propaganda and publicity by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah on their arrival home – you only need to look at the al-Megrahi/Ghaddafi fiasco for your cue here. This could be politically highly damaging for Bibi and his administration.

We wonder how ordinary Israelis will feel next year, when Hamas are bragging about what they were able to extract from the evil Zionist Jews in their upcoming election campaign? Or, heaven forbid, even worse; should one or more of the released terrorists go on to kill again?

Is anyone thinking clearly about the future deaths that may occur? How many people may be maimed or killed in years to come, just to secure the release of one man?

We know that not everyone is going to agree with us about this. And we hope that our concerns prove unfounded and that Gilad is returned to the bosom of his family as soon as humanly possible – but someone needs to be worrying about the bigger picture here; regardless of how iconic the captive has become.

[Main story: Haaretz/Video dialogue translation: Ynet]

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