[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING FOR RELEASE OF ISRAELI SOLDIER BY HAMAS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2010

  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, this week the world marks 4 years since 
the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted 
from his post at Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza. Two 
Israeli soldiers were also killed in the attack.
  Today, more than 1,400 days later, Gilad remains a hostage. Hamas has 
rejected all official requests from the International Red Cross to 
visit him. All it has provided is a propagandist video featuring 
Corporal Shalit in an address to his family. While that video was met 
with relief that he is still alive, it only compounded despair over the 
captivity of a young man who should be celebrating the most vibrant 
years of his life.
  Tragically, Gilad Shalit was not the first soldier kidnapped by 
Hamas. In 1994, Hamas terrorists in the West Bank kidnapped Nachson 
Wachsman, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen who was tortured before he 
was murdered by his captors during a failed attempt at his rescue.
  Gilad Shalit may not be an American citizen, but he is a native son 
of a close strategic ally and a fellow democracy. His situation brings 
anguish to us all. As we consider H. Res. 1359, a resolution urging 
Gilad's release, let us pledge to redouble our efforts to bring about 
his safe return.

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