UPDATE Dec. 6: Noam Shalit denies his son went on a hunger strike. According to Haaretz:
“He was in such a deteriorated physical state that they had to connect him to an IV. It wasn’t the result of a hunger strike, but of an array of factors having to do with the conditions of his imprisonment, such as a years-long lack of daylight.”
* * *
Fed up with overdone Big Media coverage of a hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners, I asked:
If Gilad Shalit Launched a Hunger Strike, Would it Make a Sound?
Turns out Shalit indeed went on a hunger strike. Haaretz writes:
Gilad Shalit went on hunger strike while in Hamas captivity, to pressure Hamas into negotiating his release, Army Radio reported on Sunday, citing “Yediot Aharonot.”
The abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier refused to eat, and consequently forced Hamas to take steps towards his release, out of fear for his life, the report said.
The Palestinian prisoners released in the October enjoyed far better treatment — and media interest — than Shalit ever did.
