Over 10,000 join Freedom March as part of Ayalon South is closed.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, TOVAH LAZAROFFSchalit Freedom March AP 311(photo credit: Associated Press)
The Schalit Freedom March ended for the day in Tel Aviv after causing traffic jams on the Ayalon highway on Sunday evening.Over 10,000 supporters joined the Schalit family towards the end of their march from Kibbutz Shefayim to Tel Aviv.RELATED:Mashaal: Hamas won't back down15,000 join Schalit family marchSeveral lanes on Ayalon South were closed to traffic to allow the marchers to cross safely as they reached the Galilot interchange.Yoel Schalit, brother of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, spoke to a crowd of people participating in the day's Freedom March at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya on Sunday.Yoel called upon Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to make a deal to free Gilad."I call upon you [Netanyahu] to listen to your nation and to do everything, more than you have done until now, to free my brother," Yoel said at the event.The Schalit family and supporters left Herzliya after the event and began heading in the direction of Tel Aviv.The 'Freedom March' left Kibbutz Shefayim at 9 a.m. Sunday, causing massive traffic jams as the activists headed for Herzliya. One of the coastal roads was closed for the protesters until they reach Kfar Shmaryahu.Drivers on the northern coast road supported and cheered the rally despite the traffic it caused. Traffic police suggested drivers take Routes 4 and 6 to avoid traffic.
Police Traffic Chief Israel J. Shibli estimated the protesters' numbers at close to 3,000.On Friday, 20,000 people joined the Schalit family as they marched in the Netanya area.Some 14,000 rallied with them in the evening as they held a protest outside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea.Aviva Schalit, Gilad’s mother, opened the ceremony by saying “thousands of people who have supported us and marched with us over the past week stand behind us.”Aviva responded to a speech by Netanyahu on Thursday, in which he said that Israel would not pay any price for the release for Gilad.“We never asked for release at all costs; the cost was determined by the Israeli government," she said.The march plans to reach Jerusalem on Thursday.
