Gilad Shalit's father angers Israeli right

The father of an Israeli soldier held in captivity for more than five years by Hamas has said he would kidnap Israeli soldiers if he were a Palestinian. Noam Shalit, who announced earlier this year that he would be standing for the opposition Labour Party in the next Israeli elections, has provoked outrage among the Israeli right with the comments. His son, Gilad, was released in a prisoner swap last October. Shalit said the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Hamas militants was comparable to the techniques used by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group that fought against the British in Palestine. "We also kidnapped British soldiers when we were fighting for our freedom," he said. Speaking to a TV interviewer in the kitchen of the family home, a familiar backdrop for the public from the family's campaign for their son's release, Shalit was subjected to repeated questioning attempting to pin him down on his political beliefs. The former engineer eventually summarised his key campaign issues as "mutual responsibility. And not leaving soldiers behind or any Israeli who is in any trouble." He also said he would be prepared to negotiate with Hamas if he were an MP, something the Israeli government, along with Britain and the US, refuses to do. "I am in favour of speaking to anyone who wants to talk to us," Mr Shalit said. When asked whether he would negotiate with a Hamas government headed by his son's kidnapper, he said: "If they change their ways and are willing to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, yes, I would shake his hand." While acknowledging Binyamin Netanyahu's role in securing his son's release, he criticised the Israeli Prime Minister for not acting more swiftly. Mr Shalit suggested economic sanctions should have been imposed on the Gaza Strip. "As soon as they capture an Israeli soldier and are not willing to release him and asking for such a price, you should put the pressure on them, including stopping the transfer of money," he said. He dismissed as "pathetic" the counterargument that Netanyahu had "brought Gilad home", a decision that carried a significant political risk given the necessary release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. "Netanyahu saw that more than 70 per cent, sometimes 80 per cent, of the public wanted the deal [to release Gilad] and he realised the public would not accept another Ron Arad," Mr Shalit said, referring to an air force pilot who was captured in Lebanon by the Shiite militia group Amal in 1986 and handed over to Hezbollah. Negotiations for his release failed in 1988 and although Arad is classified as missing in action he is presumed to have died in the mid-90s. An official from Netanyahu's office refused to give an official response to Mr Shalit's comments but pointed to his recent emergence as a candidate for the opposition, recommending "his comments should be taken in that context".