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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon this afternoon (Monday), 6.12.04, visited the Azzam family home in Maghar. The Prime Minister congratulated Azzam Azzam and his family on the occasion of his release and his return to the State of Israel: “I know that you had difficult days, and you had the strength to endure. You have a special family that never lost hope, not even for one day. Your wife and brothers behaved with distinction.”
Prime Minister Sharon thanked all those who acted for Azzam Azzam’s release: Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Health Minister Danny Naveh, MK Majalli Whbee, Mossad Director Meir Dagan, ISA Director Avi Dichter, Prime Minister’s Military Secretary Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant and Prime Minister’s special adviser Dov Weisglass: “Every one of them worked in his field, and in the end we succeeded in bringing you home.”
Prime Minister Sharon added that the captives issue has never allowed him to rest, and as a fighter and commander, he taught his soldiers never to leave anyone in the field. The Prime Minister emphasized that he kept his commitment to bring Azzam back to his family.
Prime Minister Sharon thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for Azzam’s release and said that the fact of his return points to developments for the better in bilateral relations.
Azzam Azzam thanked all of his well-wishers and told Prime Minister Sharon that the messages that he received from him strengthened him in prison: “I believed that Arik could do this. He keeps his promises. This is a new day in my life. I love and believe in this country.”
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