Yasser Rida, Egypt's ambassador to Israel, stated on Monday that his state was doing its utmost to release abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Asked by Israeli Religious-Services Minister Ya'akov Margi to relay the importance Israel places on the release of Shalit, Ambassador Rida said, "This is the first thing that we want and are working for; to return him to his parents."

Throughout the meeting, held at Margi's office, the ambassador asserted a number of times, "All the things we want to achieve through our lives, we want through peace and not through conflict." He said his country could depend on Margi's Shas party to strive for real peace, adding that Egypt remembers when Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef served in Cairo.

Margi thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for his wise regional diplomacy