ROME (AFP) — An Israeli soldier who has been held prisoner by Hamas for the last three years has been made an honorary citizen of Rome, an award to be presented to his parents, a report said Wednesday.
Mayor Gianni Alemanno planned to present the award to the parents of Gilad Shalit, whose photo hangs at city hall, during a ceremony on Wednesday evening, city hall's press office said according to the ANSA news agency.
"My son has been a hostage for three years, without rights and without being able to receive visits," said the soldier's father, Noam Shalit, was quoted as saying.
"The Palestinian people are also hostages to the Israeli state's embargo since my son was kidnapped. We are asking for Gilad's liberation as well as for the liberation of Palestinians."
Then a 19-year-old corporal, Shalit was snatched by militants from Hamas and two smaller groups who had tunnelled out of Gaza on June 25, 2006 and attacked an army post, killing two other soldiers.
Shalit, who has since been promoted to staff sergeant, is believed to be held somewhere inside the Gaza Strip, which has been run by Hamas since the Islamist movement seized power in the Palestinian enclave two years ago.
Israel and Hamas have held months of indirect talks through Egyptian mediators on a prisoner swap that would see hundreds of Palestinian detainees set free in exchange for Shalit, but no deal has been struck.
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