In an exclusive interview with the Jewish News Agency (AJN) after his trip to Brazil where he participated of the inauguration of the new Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, the Argentinean Foreign Minister, Hector Timerman, demanded the immediate release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists since 2006, "without request and for humanitarian reasons because he is a victim of an illegal act."
In this regard, the official recalled that years ago during the General Assembly of the United Nations, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met in New York with the then Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and relatives of the kidnapped soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev (the latter were killed and their remains were exchanged for Arab terrorists).
On that occasion, the president "got the ribbons (yellow, identifying the claim for their release) and took a picture" with their partners, he said.
In an exclusive interview with the Jewish News Agency (AJN), Noam Shalit, father of Gilad Shalit, had claimed that "if Israel has no solution, they must pay the price to free" Gilad.
Noam had admitted that he was "very sad" because "four years, two governments, two prime ministers, two defense ministers and two chiefs of the Army had passed, but failed to release" their child.
Timerman confirmed that he "was planning to travel to Israel" and was "looking for a date, but it is likely to be in February." He also expressed his intention to meet "with the chancellor (Avigdor Lieberman) and Tzipi Livni”, whom he knows.
Unlike what was known, the minister said that the president of AMIA, Guillermo Borger expressed that he wanted to go with him. "Of course you’re invited," he said.
The chancellor said he has "a very good relationship with Israel, without counterpoint," although "they forgot about Latin America," and asked rhetorically: "Who believes that, at every summit of Mercosur or UNASUR, puts the right of Israel to be recognized by all countries" on each resolution of these organisms.
"That is why I feel even ashamed to say that the recognition of Argentina to Israel is total and absolute and is a state policy, to the point that I cannot sit at the table with someone who tells me he has no right to exist", he added.
Finally, Timerman anticipated exclusively to the Jewish News Agency: "I have the promise of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, (Eduardo) Fellner, that in the first session of the year (in March) he will draw the approval of the free commerce agreement between Israel and Mercosur."
The argentine Foreign Minister highlighted the uncomfortable paradox that Argentina was "the country which proposed the deal with Israel and is the only one who did not sign it" so far.
Rep. Eduardo "Macaluso said he had an objection to the treaty”, and as they considered that the signature of the agreement “was not important, they dismissed it", lamented Timerman.
The chancellor also said, in reference to the attack that left 85 dead and hundreds wounded, in 18 July 1994: "We are working on the theme ‘AMIA’ every day and want to see it headed in 2011”, by the express order of the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
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