Soldier’s frailty hints at isolation

MITZPE HILA, Israel – After five years in Palestinian custody, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit came home Tuesday to adoring throngs and questions about his long years of captivity.

Doctors said he was malnourished and that he probably had spent much of the past five years in solitary confinement below ground.

His appearance certainly bore that out. Looking fragile, Schalit seemed unsteady when Israel’s prime minister, defense minister and the head of the army greeted him with warm hugs.

He limped noticeably from wounds he received when his captors snatched him in a daring cross-border raid in June 2006. His pale skin and weakness were the apparent effect of long years without exposure to sunshine.

He told his parents that the conditions of his confinement had improved in the past few years, though at first he was treated harshly.

“I’m very emotional. I haven’t seen people in a long time,” Schalit said during an interview he was made to give to Egyptian media before he was transferred to Israel. “I’m not really well.”

The story of what Schalit endured during his five years of captivity will no doubt emerge in coming days, but Tuesday was largely reserved in Israel for celebration that the 25-year-old sergeant first class – he was promoted twice while being held by Hamas – was back home. The push for his release had become a cause celebre in Israel.

His family members said he was heartened by the scenes of celebration across Israel in honor of his release.

“I want to thank all of the people who came to support us and welcome Gilad,” said Noam Schalit, Gilad’s father. “He will now start his rehabilitation, which we hope will be as swift as possible. With the help of the military doctors, we hope he will be able to resume his normal life. Today we are celebrating that our son has been reborn.”

It was a day of celebration in the Palestinian territories as well – a rare occasion in which the normally warring states both had cause to rejoice.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands took to the streets to welcome the 477 Palestinian prisoners that Israel released in the first stage in exchange for Schalit. They are the first of 1,027 prisoners that will be released in the coming months.

Many of them were serving multiple life sentences for attacks on Israeli civilians when they were released. Some of them had been in jail for decades.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since June 2007, declared the day a national holiday and turned it into a show of popularity for the Islamist movement in Gaza. On a huge stage wedged next to a grassy lot, more than 300 newly released prisoners took turns speaking to the crowd.