Normally, when soldiers complete their mandatory three-year combat service in the IDF, the date of discharge is one of celebration, a realization of having contributed and the beginning of a new life, a life that follows serving one’s country.

For the colleagues of Gilad Shalit, the day is one of many emotions – perhaps a bittersweet event; an event accompanied with a modicum of guilt, realizing that their colleague is presumably being held in a Gaza locale, a tunnel according to some reports, uncertain as to his condition.

Earlier in the day, prior to officially being discharged, the soldiers were limited in what they were permitted to say to the media since they were still in uniform. They did announce however that when they leave the Bakum Induction Base as civilians, they are not heading home, not heading to their families, and not going somewhere to celebrate.

Shalit’s colleagues on Tuesday afternoon marched from the base to the Defense Ministry, where they will meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak to present him with a letter reminding him and government ministers of their obligation to bring Shalit home, not to abandon an IDF soldier in combat. From the ministry they will march to Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, where during the late afternoon and evening hours they hope to hold a public event to increase awareness regarding Gilad’s plight, calling on supporters and relatives of Gilad Shalit to continue hoping and working towards his freedom. Taking part in the Rabin Square event will be Gilad’s parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)