Tel Aviv (dpa) – An Israeli father who came to national prominence for campaigning more than five years for the release of his soldier son held captive in the Gaza Strip, said Monday he intends to enter national politics. Noam Shalit, whose son, Gilad, was returned to Israel on October 18 as part of a prisoner swap with the Islamist group Hamas, said he plans to fight for a spot on the Labour Party list in the next elections. Labor Party leader Sheli Yachimovich welcomed the move, saying, in a reaction broadcast on Israel Radio, that she was “happy at Noam's decision.” “After years of public struggle, in which I was privileged to get to know the moral and beautiful sides of Israeli society, I have decided to join the public service,” Shalit said, in remarks quoted in the Israeli media. Shalit and his wife Aviva are registered members of the Labor Party, once Israel's natural party of government, but now a small opposition party with only 8 of the 120 legislators in parliament. Despite the prominence he gained as he campaigned publicly for his son's release, Noam Shalit will still have to campaign in the primaries which decide who will be on the Labor Party list for the next elections. Israel's next parliamentary election is scheduled to take place next year. But speculation has been mounting in Israel that it might be moved forward. On Sunday, a popular television news anchor and newspaper columnist announced he was leaving the media to set up his own political party ahead of the elections. Yair Lapid, whose father Yosef was also a journalist who entered national politics, made the announcement on his Facebook page. Polls have suggested a party headed by him could do well in the next election, but analysts said Monday that his support could erode once campaigning gets seriously underway. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/0PxXu Tags: Gilad Shalit, Israel, Politics Section: Latest News, Palestine
