1:00AM EST: [UPDATE BELOW] Noam and Aviva Shalit, the parents of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, will be meeting on Monday with Rav Ovadia Yosef Shlita as they continue efforts towards bringing Gilad Home.

The Shalit’s have recently stepped up their efforts, calling on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert “to finish the job” and arrange for Gilad’s release prior to leaving office. The Shalits fear that if Gilad is not released before Election Day, his situation will be compromised since it will take time until a new administration will address the issue. They add that fear if Olmert does not secure his release before the Feb. 10th general elections, he may chas v’sholom become another Ron Arad, who fell into captivity over Lebanon in Oct 1986.

Rav Ovadia invited the Shalits along with Shas leader Eli Yishai. Rav Ovadia also met with the parents of soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev HY”D, whose bodies were returned in a prisoner exchange deal last year.

In a related matter, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday called on Minister for Pensioner Affairs Rafi Eitan, a former Mossad director, to join his team towards assisting in obtaining Gilad’s release. Olmert remains determined to bring Shalit home before stepping down from office but the call to Eitan to assist at this late hour is somewhat perplexing, only days before the prime minister is scheduled to step down.

Adding more confusion to the situation is the fact that on motzei Shabbos, Defense Minister Ehud Barak released a statement that Shalit will be released prior to the current administration stepping down from office.

UPDATE 8:40AM EST: Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef Shlita met on Monday morning with the father (Noam) and grandfather of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

In a brief statement to the press following his meeting with the Rav, Noam Shalit stated the Rav expressed optimism regarding his release in the near future.

Mr. Shalit added that Rav Ovadia stated that following his release, he would like to invite Gilad to come and see him as well.

The Shalits have been exerting increased pressure, fearing that if Gilad is not release before the Feb. 10th general election chas v’sholom, he may share a fate similar to that of Israeli airman Ron Arad, who fell into captivity in 1986 and remains missing today.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)