Papal nuncio tried to secure release of kidnapped Israeli soldier

Published: 2006-07-21

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The papal nuncio to Israel and the Palestinian territories said he tried to secure the release of a kidnapped Israeli soldier soon after his capture by Hamas forces. The nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Franco, told Catholic News Service he tried to secure the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit through a Gazan parish priest, Father Manual Musallam, who contacted Hamas and asked for the soldier's release in the name of the Vatican for "humanitarian reasons." "He contacted the people in Hamas, and then there were all the complications and there was no follow-up, and the soldier was not released," said the archbishop, who declined to elaborate on the content and type of communication between Hamas and the priest. The Palestinian militant faction Hamas kidnapped Shalit June 25 as the militants called for the release of all Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons. Palestinian advocacy groups claim some 10,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners -- including women and children -- have been held in Israeli jails for years.

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