Father demands release of captured Israeli (AP)

UNITED NATIONS – The father of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-allied militants more than five years ago called on the international community Thursday to demand the release of his son as a precondition for recognition of Palestine as a U.N. member state.

Gilad Schalit was captured inside Israel in June 2006 and has been held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of prisoners, including many who carried out deadly attacks on Israeli civilians, in exchange for Schalit.

The father, Noam Schalit, told a news conference that he came to New York to meet with diplomats from many countries and U.N. officials to press for his son's release ahead of expected Palestinian moves seeking U.N. recognition later this month.

He said the Palestinian U.N. observer mission turned down a request to meet with him, but he said he met with senior officials from the U.N., United States, Britain, France, Russia and Italy.

He thanked U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice for demanding his son's immediate release and U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who promised to "use all her channels to tell the Palestinians ... to comply with international humanitarian law" and allow Red Cross visits to him.

In a letter from Schalit's parents to governments released at the press conference, Noam and Aviva Schalit said: "We demand that the recognition of Palestine as a U.N. member state be preconditioned on a genuine, explicit and United Nations-monitored undertaking by the Palestinian Authority to comply with international law and to immediately release our son."

Noam Schalit said the last word from his son was in September 2009 and "we do not even know if he is alive."

At all his meetings in New York, Schalit said he has stressed that the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, signed a coalition agreement with Hamas last April.

"The Palestinian Authority cannot be allowed to ignore the commission of a grave breach of international humanitarian law by its coalition partner at the same time that it seeks the legitimacy and recognition of the international community," he said.

The Schalit family favors a Palestinian state existing side-by-side in peace with Israel but is not taking a position on the Palestinian request for U.N. recognition.

Egypt took charge of negotiations between Israel and Hamas from 2006-2009, and Schalit said there are attempts by Egypt's new government to take charge again. "So far, we haven't got any news about any breakthrough or any developments," he said.

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