Gilad Shalit being treated “wonderfully”

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Read the full English transcript at HAARETZ.com.

Kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit appears to be healthy in a video aired on Israeli television stations Friday.

Shalit, captured by Hamas more than three years ago, is seen clean shaven and with a fresh haircut, wearing dark clothes and appearing relaxed in the two-minute video.

In the video, Shalit reads a statement that says he’s been treated well by the mujahadeen of the Kassam Brigades, expresses the hope that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will secure his release soon and addresses his family directly. At one point walks up to the camera and then returns to his chair. He holds a Palestinian newspaper dated Sept. 14, 2009.

Netanyahu watched the tape and said in a statement that “he believes the importance of the tape is in putting the responsibility for Gilad’s health and well being squarely on Hamas’s shoulders.”

Israel received the video in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners.

Israel Radio reported that the video meets the criteria of a deal struck in recent weeks through a German mediator: It is 2.5 minutes long, more than twice the required length of one minute; Shalit appears to be in good health; and proof is included to show that it was shot recently.

Read the full English transcript at HAARETZ.com.