Schalits heading for Jerusalem after urging Gazans to pressure Hamas
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
By: ICEJ News

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On Tuesday, the “Freedom March” for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit started the ninth day of its 12-day journey with 4,000 marchers trodding along busy Highway 1 heading up towards Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The procession will stop in Ramle on this evening before renewing the ascent to the Israeli capital and the offices and residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – the march’s ultimate destiny. On Monday, the Schalit family visited the site along the Gaza border where their son Gilad was kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 during a cross-border tunnel raid. Schalit’s parents urged Gazans to pressure their rulers like he has been pressuring Israeli leaders to finalize a deal for Schalit’s release in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The appeal helped answer some criticism within Israel that the movement to free Schalit was directing its message to the wrong address. Following the Gaza border visit, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed for more than 8,000 Schalit sympathizers in the Eshkol National Park near Gaza on Monday night.  “Every note that we play today is going toward him,” said prominent conductor Zubin Mehta. Schalit’s parent plan to sit in a tent in front of Netanyahu’s official residence until their son Gilad is released. Tens of thousands are expected to join a rally outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem on Thursday evening to mark the end of the 12-day march.