European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek urged again Monday the "immediate release" of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas since June 2006 in the Gaza Strip.
"This is what the European Union and in particular the European Parliament is demanding," Buzek said, recalling that Gilad Shalit is also a European citizen, as he also holds French citizenhip.
"This detention since 5 years is unjustified. Let me assure you, our friends from Israel, and the relatives of Gilad Shalit that we feel like he is our son, our grandson, we feel like he is a member of our European family", he added at the inauguration of an exhibit in the European Parliament in Brussels of illustrations based on Gilad Shalit’s book "When the Shark and the Fish First Met" he wrote when he was 11 years old.
The inauguration took place in the presence of Reuven Rivlin, Chairman of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, who is on a two-day visit in the Belgian capital, four months after Buzek visited the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Rivlin, who expressed his appreciation for the EU Parliament’s initiative to organize the exhibition, said that the matter of Gilad Shalit "is not only an outcome of the conflict between us, Israelis, and the Palestinians. It is a matter of humanity, it is a matter that goes to the values that we all share in the democratic world."
He stressed that Hamas has rejected all the calls from around the world. "Hamas is even rejecting their own leaders from the government of President Mahmoud Abbas."
He called for pressure from the European Union on Hamas "in order to bring them to understand that such things cannot happen in our free world."
Rivlin thanked Buzek for his efforts and said that he hopes the exhibit will raise awareness of Schalit’s captivity. "Let us hope that within the next few days we will find Gilad Shalit at home along with his family," Rivlin said.
During his stay, Rivlin, who is accompanied by several Knesset members, will meet Tuesday the European Parliament foreign affairs committee, visit the Belgian Parliament and talk with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.