President Shimon Peres is working behind the scenes to advance progress for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. According to the daily Yisrael HaYom, the president has been holding behind the scenes talks with senior UN officials to advance efforts to obtain Shalit’s release, or at the very least, to arrange for a humanitarian visit.

Peres, who is considered a respected senior official in the international diplomatic community, is reportedly working hard to arrange a visit by an International Red Cross official with Shalit. Officials in the President’s Resident are also hopeful that a human rights visit will lead to increasingly accurate information pertaining to his condition, which to date is all based on statements from Hamas officials.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)