Punishing the Palestinian people won't free Gilad, Sarkozy tells Shalit family

You should have brought to light how disgusting the way Palestinians live in Gaza (Open Air Prison). The Palestinians displayed democracy, and in return they are starved of basic human necessities. Or how about 40 years of occupation!

It's not that I am against freeing Shalit, but I am for freeing everyone including Shalit as well as the thousands of Pals in Israeli jails. I am also against the cynical movements to free a "soldier" working to enforce occupation and "defend his country" because no one can argue against the idea that he was at that military camp enforcing his country's occupation of the Palestinian land. No one shall attempt to forget this fact. Moreover, when I think about this whole situation from different perspectives, I found the following: for one SOLDIER Israel launched a 21-day war, killed more than 1600 Palestinians, demolished thousands of houses, seized more than 1.5 million people including non-Hamas supporters, children, women, etc. for more than 2 years, and prevented basic humanitarian aids to come into Gaza. If was an Israeli I would be ashamed to call my self Israeli as I would do the same when I see my people attacking "civilian" Israelis. Before anyone thinks of freeing soldiers, the world must call Israel to free those who have been in prison for tens of years and let them get their freedom.

I am french, and here in France , most people find our president sarkozy very hypocrit when he speaks about shalit , and doesn't speak about salah hammouri , a french citizen detained in israeli jail since four years.

Sir, I have read many articles, covering a lot of papers (left wing, right wing) regarding the Shalit case, however I have not read a single word that the Shalit family was writing to President Peres or PM Netanyahu asking them to go forward and release the 1000 Pals. in Israel's prisons as was negotiated with the support of non-Israeli security agencies; Mr. Shalit would be free and approx. 8000 Pals would still be in Israel's prisons.

Free Schalit and show us your brilliant method. I love how everything Israel does is supposedly the wrong way of doing things.

Yeah, lets focus all our attention on this one guy and forget about all the rest. Lets also forget the fact that he is a POW who was captured as a solder of the army that held and is still holding inhumane siege of the Gaza strip.

Hello president, you do not have back bone to tell this to USA, how many prisoners are in USA.

it is crazy for sarcozy to describe shalit's detention as "inhuman". the question is what is human about isreali detention of thousands of palestineans under the harshest conditions? seems these so-called leaders of the 'free world' are devoid of any real sense of fairness and sound judgement which in my opinion accounts for their double standard, the hopeless UN inclusive.

Under the Laws of war, Hamas are required to allow contact. It does NOT have to allow Red Cross visits. It can keep Shalit for the duration as a POW. The level of ignorance displayed by world leaders is amazing. No wonder the I/P issue is a complete FU*( UP!

In 1967, Israel launched a war and overran Gaza. Gaza has been under occupation and siege, since. Israel never gave up its occupier status. Occupation and siege are acts of war. You have been engaged in acts of war against the people of Gaza for almost half a century, continuously. Some of their acts of resistance have been terrorism, but not all. And Israel does not have clean hands either. Gilad Shalit was enforcing the siege when captured. He was not the Lindbergh baby snatched from his cradle. Recognizing as a captured soldier taken in a war Israel started would go a long way to freeing him. The Israeli government is in denial that he was captured in a war in which he is a soldier. You hold 10,000 POWs. They hold one.

The fact is that the fate of one hostage is of little consequence in a place where people are killed every day. Shalit will not go home in the meantime, and the Palestinians will continue as they are now as well.

I am an average Palestinian who has a genuine belief in peaceful coexistence with Israelis, and who was imprisoned, about 20 years ago, for several months simply because of raising a Palestinian flag. From my personal experience and daily observation of the general situation around, I can state with confidence that imprisoning Palestinians by Israeli occupation authorities is in many cases a matter of an apartheid psychology rather than a security need. I sympathize with the suffering of Shalit's family, and hope that Israelis will develope more awareness towards thousands of tortoised hearts in their prisons.

If you are not able to do a thing for the Shalits who are French citizens. Keep your long French nose out of Israel's politics. Adieu!!!!!

It's unfortunate for the Shalit family, but their son fate is not much difference for thousands of innocent Palestinians held in Israelis jails on some phony charges or administrative detentions,their rights are violated by Israel.Some of these men were kidnapped by the IDF,after several years, some have still not been charge for committed any crime, except for being a Palestinian. Shalit was engaged in combat against Palestinians, he was captured, it is no difference from what Israel practices are, so he is not a hostage, he is a POW.

between Israel and Hamastan (Gaza), and that Shalit is a prisoner ofwar. And, as in other wars, prisoners of war will be returned only after the cessation of all hostilities. This is the norm throughout the worlod - take World Warf II for example - and also in Israel's previous wars - the War of Independence in 1948; the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. In all these wars, there was no exchange of prisoners until hostrilities had ended. If the Israeli goverment does make such a declaration, the Hamas rulers will be deprived of their principal psychological weapon against Israel. They will lose favor in the eyues of both the residents of Gaza and the residents of the Westr Bank, who will then know that Hamas can do nothing for them. They will losed whatever recognition they have achieved in the rest of the world. Yes, therre will be a furor here in Israel for a while, and the Shalit family will be deeply hurt; but their swon is a soldier and they must resign themselves to this fact. Once the furor has dieddown - and it will - the whole ,matter will drop out of the headlines, leaving a frustrated Hamas with no gains to speak of.

The soldier Shalit was wearing the uniform and arms of a foreign country. As such it is quite obvious he or his family was keeping the french passport as a matter or mere convenience.

While I know you are a friend of Israel's, I still must ask the question: What exactly has France done to free Shalit? I mean, other than run your mouths?

Sarkozy should have added that punishing an Israeli soldier and his family will not bring any benefit to Palestinians either. He sees only one side.

The way hamas is keeping shalit in captivity is a shame, is infamy. Those who make decision on this are despicable small minds.

the blockage /siege is to prevent missiles and other weapons from being imported into the strip, not to bring about shalits release... come on ...give me a break with this BS eurotrash moral equivalency...gaza was given back fully. It was hamas who chose to use this overture israel made to then advance rocket attacks on israel. This blockade has NOTHING to do with shalit. and pardon me for saying so, but the whole notion or trading shalit for a 1000 or so prisoners is ludicrous One for One is all israel should offer. Sorry gilad, but this is war and the state needs to look at the big picture and the greater good. I wish noam would shut his freakin mouth already. If he had, gilad might have been home already. Israel needs to change this policy. It should be, if we can rescue you, we will. If we cant. we will only trade one for one. Nothing more.

So much discussion over the "one" israeli prisoner, but little discussion about the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in israel who have been completely cut off from families and any outside contact. Fair?

These 'negotiators' are so helpful for the peace process. Unbiased, personal interests set aside... Really nice to see how Sarkozy is 'NOT' encouraging more terror acts/kidnapping or attacks on Israel. Such a Friend of Israel, and the 'new' Middle East. Small wonder why exactly that approach has ruined Paris and the rest of France. Please bring more of this on... We want you to 'teach us' how to do so well. Oh, and btw, thanks for calling, eh ?

By leaving Shalit a prisoner, Netanyahu has an endless excuse to display how 'cruel' Hamas is. If Shalit was freed he might have to bow to international pressure to seriously consider Hamas as part of a peace plan. He does not want that, he wants the settlements, E Jerusalem, the further denigration of Palestinians. He is just playing games with Shalit and the thousands of Palestinian prisoners who also continue to suffer endlessly.

They did win the election and resisted a coup by Fatah.

I am wondering why these brilliant World leaders are not pushing both sides for the permanent solution of this problem. The misery of Palestinian and fear for Israeli will continue until and unless there is some solution of this problem. People on both sides are getting killed on both sides in the name of God. Who is right and who is wrong we should try to get over this and work for a democratic independent country where people of all faith can live in peace. We should not forget that this is the land which is source of all these three major religion. So how our God can be different. It is all freak human greed to act as dominant which is causing so much misery and pain.

So far, Israel has decided to allow into Gaza all items except those fit for military use. What remains of the "siege" is not allowing the Export of finished goods even if raw materials can come in, as well as prevention of movement of Gazans in and out of that territory (subject to security restrictions. The inability to export essentially destroys the Gaza economy, rendering the population destitute and in need of food relief. And here is a legal opinion (by the UN's Human Rights Council): "The [Goldstone] Report states that Israeli acts that deprive Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of their means of subsistence, employment, housing and water, that deny their freedom of movement and their right to leave and enter their own country, that limit their rights to access a court of law and an effective remedy, could lead a competent court to find that the crime of persecution, a crime against humanity, has been committed"- unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/9B63490FFCBE44E5C1257632004EA67B?opendocument On this basis, the remainder of the "siege" should also go. In any event, the prevention of ships going into Gaza is justified by security concerns. The ports of Ashdod (Israel) and El-Arish (Egypt) are near the Gaza strip and should be used instead.

The Jewish tradition (and law) is to pay to a great deal for "redemption of captives", but not an unlimited amount. The case of Rabbi Meir of Ruthenburg (13th cent.) is well known; he forbade the payment of an exorbitant amount for his own release and died in captivity after seven years. Netanyahu agreed to the release of even murderous prisoners, but only if the most dangerous will go into exile abroad or to Gaza, instead of being released to their homes in the West Bank. This strikes me as a fair position. The rest is up to Hamas. Note that pressuring Hamas about Shalit's release by imprisoning 1.5 million civilians in Gaza did not work, is immoral as a collective punishment, and according to some legal experts constitutes a crime against humanity. It is time for the Shalit family to turn to pressuring Hamas by trying to shame them in the Arab world as prolonging the imprisonment of their jailed colleagues. Let Noam Shalit give some interviews to this effect to the Arab press and al-Jazeera. This might even work.