Israel Matzav

Human Rights Watch slams Hamas over Shalit

This is one of those moments.

Human Rights Watch, which recently went on a fundraising tour to Saudi Arabia, issued a statement Wednesday urging Hamas to allow kidnapped IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit contact with his family. Israel Radio reported that Human Rights Watch backed it up by placing an ad in Thursday's al-Quds, a 'Palestinian' daily, urging the same thing.

Hamas authorities should immediately allow Sgt. Gilad Shalit of Israel to communicate with his family and to receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, a day before the third anniversary of his captivity. "Hamas's prolonged incommunicado detention of Shalit is cruel and inhuman and may amount to torture," Human Rights Watch said.

The civil rights organizaiton, which often targets Israel for alleged violations of human rights, has rarely mentioned the plight of Shalit since he was abducted by terrorists three years ago today.

Hamas authorities are obligated by the laws of war to allow Shalit to correspond with his family, but during his three years of captivity, Hamas has passed on only three letters he has written and a voice recording. Neither Shalit's family nor the ICRC have been permitted to visit him.

"Hamas authorities have no excuse for cutting off Shalit from his family and the outside world for three years," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of the human rights watchdog group. "Punishing Shalit for grievances against Israel is unjust and unlawful."

Well, it certainly took them long enough to notice.

Tweet #Gilad.

UPDATE 2:01 PM

I made a mistake. The ad I heard of on the radio was not placed by Human Rights Watch - it was placed by B'Tselem. And they tried to place it in Gaza also, but they were not allowed to place it there. The 'government' of Gaza isn't real big on criticism.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:42 PM