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Free Gilad Shalit By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Hamas, Israel, Gilad Shalit Anyone who reads the interview with Noam Shalit in Haaretz today, or who has heard him speaking recently in other media, will find no decency or compassion in the government's behavior. As described by Shalit, a lawyer and accountant somehow morphed together and became our prime minister. Shalit says he does not feel that anyone in the cabinet is agonizing over his suffering. This should resonate loudly. He said the prime minister told him that "he had no contract that obligates him to release any citizen from captivity," referring to Noam's son, the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. This too evokes grave thoughts. The evasive response of the prime minister's bureau - "We have no desire or intention to get into a public confrontation on this matter" - does not exempt the prime minister from the responsibility not only to bring Shalit home, but to treat his anxious parents properly. Advertisement For what is that argument about not releasing prisoners with blood on their hands? Hasn't Israel released prisoners in the past who have killed people? Are the 11,000-odd Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel such a national asset that we cannot let even some of them go to satisfy Shalit's abductors? Is the revenge and punishment involved in locking up terrorists equal in value to releasing an abducted soldier? And what about the argument that the freed prisoners would resume their terrorist activity? Hasn't reality in the territories produced - and is producing daily - enough terrorists, criminals and murderers without requiring the services of the jailed prisoners? And after arresting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians over 40 years of occupation, would Israel have any difficulty in filling the quota of prisoners who would be released in exchange for Shalit? Israel, having preferred, justifiably, to try out the cease-fire with Hamas rather than embark on a military operation, is now attempting to bite off more than it can chew. It is linking the cease-fire and opening the Rafah crossing to Gilad Shalit's release. Two for the price of one, as though it were a special offer in a supermarket chain. This approach may be suitable for gamblers, who are willing to pay the price of a failed negotiation, but not for a state that has learned a bitter lesson in POW exchanges. A state that knows the price of a POW, dead or alive; a state that knows that the public does not forget the prisoners. In spite of this, during the two years since Shalit - whom every Israeli family has come to regard as its own son - was taken prisoner, the government has offered a variety of excuses, forgetting the heart of the matter. A state's prestige is not measured only by its military ability to deal with a terror organization or enemy state, and its might is not measured merely by its deterrent ability. It leans on the public's confidence in its fairness, its ability to act compassionately and its willingness to pay a high price, as its citizens are required to. The Israeli government's reasons for preventing the Shalit deal don't hold water, and it would do well to set aside the futile arguments it is clinging to. Gilad Shalit must come home. He is the national asset, not the Palestinian prisoners. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Purchase price More consumers are letting their consciences do the shopping. Fighting fear N.Y. mayor urges Jewish voters to denounce Obama Muslim rumors.

Read & React Bradley Burston: Peace dead? Send us your own plan Responses: 224 U.S., Canada warn Hezbollah set to strike Jewish targets, report says Responses: 241 Report: Israel held drill as prep for attack on Iran Responses: 362 Messianic Jews: Police indifferent to threats against us Responses: 145 Report: Israeli political official says drill was a warning to Iran Responses: 119 More Headlines 02:36 Israel seeks Hamas flexibility on Shalit deal 22:03 Shalit's parents to petition High Court for clarification on truce 01:13 Report: North Korea developed nukes for Iran at bombed Syrian facility 23:19 Abducted IDF soldier writes to parents from captivity in Gaza 02:50 Iran slams reports of Israeli drill in preparation for strike 17:42 Group calls for end to arms transfer to Palestinian Authority 12:13 Obama: Israel right to provide for its security amid Iran threat 22:30 Couple assaulted in restaurant after asking diners to stop smoking 11:24 UNICEF severs ties with Israeli mogul over settlement building 18:59 Fire erupts at Maale Hachamisha hotel in Jerusalem hills 18:14 Israeli hiker missing in China after falling off cliff during trek Previous Editions Select Day 20 jun 19 jun 18 jun 17 jun 16 jun 15 jun 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun

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