HAMAS RELEASES AUDIO OF KIDNAPPED ISRAELI SOLDIER

TWO QUESTIONS. FIRST, WHY DOES THE MEDIA REFER TO SHALIT AS "CAPTURED" AND THE BBC REPORTER BEING HELD AS "KIDNAPPED?". SECOND, WHERE IS THE U.N. AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMUNITY TO CONDEMN THIS WAR CRIME?

Shalit says his health is deteriorating (YNet)
Hamas on Monday released a recorded message from captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago. In the message, posted on a Hamas website, Shalit sent greetings to his family and said his health was deteriorating. He also expressed disappointment in the "lack of interest" of the Israeli government in his fate.

"Mother and father, my sister and brother, my friends in the Israel Defense Forces. I greet you from prison and miss you all," he said.

"I have spent a full year in prison, and my health is still deteriorating, and I need a prolonged hospitalization. I regret the lack of interest on the part of the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces in my case and their refusal to meet the demands of the al-Qassam brigades," he added.

Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006, by gunmen from Hamas and two allied groups who tunneled into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Negotiations for his release, mediated by Egypt, have repeatedly broken down and been complicated since Hamas took control of Gaza two weeks ago.

In the tape, Shalit called on the Israeli government to meet Palestinian demands for a large-scale prisoner swap. "Just as I have parents, a mother and father, the thousands of Palestinian prisoners have mothers and fathers to whom their sons must be returned," he said.

"I have a great hope from my government that it show more interest in me and meet the demands of the mujahideen (captors)."

Before Monday, Shalit, 20, had not been seen or heard from since he was captured, though there have been reports that a letter was sent to his family. The website did not say when the tape was made. But the recording - accompanied by a photo of Shalit and footage of Hamas gunmen and images of last year's attack - appeared to be authentic.
The recording also was played on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV station in Gaza.

Shalit's father, Noam, listened to the tape on Channel 2 television, asking the station to play it a second time for the soldier's mother to hear. He said it appeared that the statement was coerced.

"I imagine that it's the same as the letter they dictated to him and doesn't reflect his real state," he said. "We want somebody independent to see him, to examine him and the conditions under which he is held, his medical condition of course and his mental (state)."

Earlier Monday, the militants holding Shalit said he was in good health and being treated well. "Shalit is alive and in very good shape," Said Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees. "His health is good and he's stable. We are treating him according to our religion's instructions on how to deal with war prisoners."

SEE ALSO: Hamas releases recording of captured soldier's voice (JPost) (WITH VIDEO)

Report: Captured IDF Soldier Held in Booby-Trapped Gaza Building (Reuters/Ha'aretz)
Israel Channel 2 television reported Sunday that Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, captured a year ago in a cross-border raid into Israel, was being held in an underground room inside a booby-trapped building near Shaboura close to Rafah. Shalit's living quarters are accessible down a ladder through a 15-meter deep shaft lined with explosives, the report said.