Excuses to let Gilad Shalit die just don't hold up

Hamas would like to abduct more people they just can't so a swap won't encourage anything.

who couldn't feel for gilad..or any other soldier in similar circumstances..the truth is however much darker for israel ...we need a new policy where all of our warriors know and accept in advance that if captured, no trades will be done, unless they are perhaps one to one...and depending on who is being asked for and what they did... if bin laden or nasrallah activated a sleeper cell in the US to take over an entire office building or something like that and then said, free all the 9/11 terrorists due to be tried in NYC or we start killing hundreds of people, what would america do? I wonder....sorry gilad, I love you, but the greater good is more necessary.

The terror will not abate if Shalit is kept in Gaza. And it 'may' increase if 1000 Palestinians are released. That is a matter for increasing vigilance and security. But a soldier, a young man, from the IDF needs to be brought home. The price is high - as its always has been for Israel since its inception - but Israel needs to bring Galid Shalit home. Israel looks after its own - its always has done and it should continue to.

Free Gilad Shalit now! Achsav! No hesitation! Release Gilad Shalit now!

Israel set itself into an absurd trap when it began releasing massive numbers of terrorists and prisoners in exchange for only a single Israeli, or even a few Israelis remains. Netanyahu would do well to put his foot down and plainly state, "you've always argued the life of a single Arab is just as valuable as any single Israels. Now which one do you want?" I feel terrible for Shalit and his family, but one can't sacrifice future victims who have the disadvantage of anonymity and pretend that they won't be killed if you make this deal.

The far left in Israel are issuing more hurtful propaganda against Israel than hamas could ever do. hamas is a mean,evil group hell bent on destroying Jewish lives and property. They do not care about peace or peaceful co-extence with Israel .They care about destruction of Israel and death of Jews. The left cannot grasp this fact and run after these bellicose bullies begging them to come to the table of peace and act like gentlemen and not the animals that they are. Something has gone terribly wrong with the psyche in Israel.Since when does a family have a right to dictate the course of action of a government? To hold this government and the citizens hostage to a deal that will bear the fruits of more evil and destruction. It is tragic about Shalit and everyone hurts because of this but folks this is war and war is ugly.This is dealing with the devil and that is ugly also. It is time to step back re examine the scenario and make a decision that will benefit the citizens not harm them

wrong, Zvi, not freeing prisoners, but ending the "occupation", kill all the jews living in Israel. You should simply read the Hamas chapter.

Do not free Shalit if it means killing more Israelis. Instead tell the Hamas to free Shalit or you will give capital punishment to all 10,000 terrorist prisoners over a 3 day period. This is not the first deal of this type. Yet the terrorists continue to kidnap and kill. The people you release perhaps will kill people so you are doing something absolutely terrible if you release them!

Zvi Bar'el spends a lot of words and energy to present his absurd argument against those who do not want terrorists released. Anyone who does not acknowledge the pain in releasing people who killed your husband, children and parents should not b a reporter. To picture their opposition as being ridiculous is painful.Whatever the descision is, it is painful and hurtful to release terrorist murderers to a group which will use it to encourage more terrorist acts.

I truly believe Netanyahu has it in his heart to release this kid who has had the moral, physical and emotional fortitude to withstand over three years in confinement. Why, then, would he be going to Germany? I just hope that 980, the latest figure that is being mentioned is enough. The holiday of Chanukah is about matir assurim.

The issue is not that the released prsinors might kill Israelis in the future. No one can know that at this time, although the odds are high that some will kill Israeilis, believing as they should that they will be eventually exchanged out of prison. The issue is that being caught breaking Israeli laws and committing violence against Israel has no deterrance value, if all it takes is kidnapping a single soldier. So, if someone is offered a few shekels to kidnap a soldier and he succeeds, than Hamas will have virtual guarantees to give the next 980 violent killers that they will be freed much earlier than the courts will decide. I heard that this offer of money to kidnap soldiers is already out there somewhere. This is not the way to deal with Hamas. They are in the 14th Century and ought to be treated in 14th Century fashion.

Hamas will try to abduct israelies no matter what. The only way to prevent abductions is to take the propper security measures. In the meantime, FREE SHALIT!!

Israel needs very badly to have the discussion over whether captured soldiers will be redeemed or abandoned. Every Israeli has to KNOW which price the nation will pay next time. Especially soldiers confronted by captivity need to know. Then Israel must act quickly in the future. Either redeem the soldiers immediately or abandon them publicly. The gutless wavering of conservatives like Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s, trapped between conservative boasts of not negotiating with terrorists and public pressures to return captives leads only to a worse situation and a higher price. Reagan eventually traded hostages for weapons, and then saw new hostages taken. As courage is not something politicians usually exhibit, it is best to have a solid and accepted policy for them to follow.

Israel made Hamas what they are today!! This is what made me discusted with Israel!

Bar'el: " How easy it is to present a false, distorted picture showing the profound connection between freeing terrorists and terror attacks, one that ignores the fact that for 42 years, the motivation for such attacks was not freeing prisoners, but ending the occupation. " Bar'el, it is your distorted intellect which fails to see that terrorist attacks against Israel are not because of the "occupation", but they take place in spite of it. Your distorted view fails to recognize that we exited Gaza - every last Inch of it, made it by necessity "Juden free", and they still attack us. Your distorted view fails to see that the PLO charter still declares that Israel does not have the right to exist. Your world is comfortably simple - blame it all on the occupation. Freeing Shalit for 450 prisoners with blood on their hands is a terrible risk, and the price for miscalculation will mean a lot more Israeli blood. That there is hegemony of Israeli opinion about the swap is reasonable.

Out of 11 thousand palestinian prisoners.....a vast majority have NOT been convicted. (such as members of hamas parliament) They are held in administrative detention. http://freemohammadothman.wordpress.com/ Thats the story of one out of 11 thousand imprisoned.

brains at all. Any remotely rational mind would put blame on the actual murderers not on somebody who was not able to prevent the murder. The US does not legitimized terrorists by talking with them- and Israel should not either. To make Hamas pay for their crimes is what is needed.

I agree that we should free Shalit, but not at any cost. You even agree that The deal planned will bolster HAMAS which is not what Israel should be doing. Aside from this it will allow murders back on the street to murder again, and they certaily wil This will also show the Palestinians that it pays to kidnap Israelis. It will give them even greater impetus to do so. The bottom line is Israel will gain one life and lose many more in the future, strengthen HAMAS at the expense of Fatah and push peace efforts much further into the future.

Better to lose one soldier than countless civilians due to releasing terrorists! Releasing thousands for Shalit will only encourage many more abductions.

Sure many of the Hamas captives have blood on their hands. But there are also a lot of Zionists with blood on their hands who are running free. In total, zionism has much, much more blood on its hands than Hamas.

giving in to hamas' demands in exchange for shalit is definitely no easy choice. it would've been if indeed the motivation behind the abduction had been to free 'likewise innocent' pal. prisoners in israel. but it has nothing to do w/that & hamas is gonna score high in getting out its worst perpetrators whose detention in israel is more than justified. their release will encourage further abductions & will weaken israel in the fight against hamas terror. what speaks for paying the price is that shalit's life is in the balance now & not theoretically, making it as questionable morally to sacrifice him. where barel's argument fails entirely is in the claim that from hamas' side their whole terror campaign has been motivated as a fight against occupation. that would've been nice as one could've envisaged an end to that fight. unfortunately it has always been against israel as such & nothing israel would /wouldn't do has so far been able to change that.

Bibi, your son's in the army. My older son finished his stint, and his younger brother will do his after a year of service. Gilad is as much my son as my son is yours. Yours is also mine. THIS is how we should relate to every & any POW. I will stand by you as you negotiate your son's freedom and life. I would expect the same from you, & Noam Shalit must also. The only thing I feared, in 22 years of service in the army, was being captured. I didn't fear injury or death. 95% I served on the borders or beyond, not in the occupied territories in within the country. What would becoming a POW do to my parents, my wife, my children? Well done, Zvi Barel! Bibi, bring him home alive. . . NOW! Bibi, do us all a favor & prevent the next captives (Palestinian or Israeli). Adopt the Geneva Initiative & sit with any Palestinian representative (Abu Mazen or Hamas) and cut to the chase. Don't just leave territories, like Sharon. Don't just stay, like Sharon before. End the conflict now!

When insurgents in Iraq kidnapped allied forces and made huge demands for their release, did the US, UK, Australia or other country capitulate to the terrorists' demands? Sincerely, David

This is the question you are asking? What hipocresy? All the mass media including your newspaper were mobilized in favor of Gilad Shalit - have you forgotten that? When Almagor, the organization of the victims who were murdered by those you want to release, thought they deserve the same treatment of the media - they were always refused! I am making a list of all the celebs who are in favor to pay everything to release the soldier - to remind them when another soldier will be hijacked in the future. I am sure that then you will remain silent! By the way, what is your interest to release Gilad Shalit? Because Shalit family use to live in a Kibutz and the kibutz organization is mobilized to help one of them? Azam Azam was 8 years in an Egiptian jail - and no one care of him. And don't tell me that this is a different situation because Gilad is a soldier. The IDF sent a comando unit to release 360 passengers hijacked to Antebe - and they were not soldiers.

Besides being demagogic, dishonest and disgusting. People held in jail are there because they committed acts of terrorism, and if they weren't apprehended they would have gone on doing so. Soldiers were killed trying to apprehend them because they were considered dangerous, and if they go back to terrorism as many will, more soldiers will be killed in reapprehending them. Previous released terrorists went back to killing Jews. This isn't made up stories. This is true. That doesn't mean that the deal shouldn't be done, but no need to mockingly present those against the deal as "singing old songs".

petty israeli politicians , from olmert to bibi and the clowns around him....you are not only killing Gilad but his parents as well. if it bwas my son i assure you you would not have a rest day from than to eternity. these palesinioANS WITH BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE IT WHEREEVER THEY ARE - FREE OR IN JAIL. RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS YOU INCAPEABLE LOT?

I've heard arguments in favor of getting Gilad released, as as well arguments in favor of not freeing terrorists from jail into the public, and I must say, this article is among the weakest I've heard. Is Zvi Bar'el seriously trying to make the point that releasing individuals that had absolutely no problem causing tens or dozens of people to die (and a lot of them) will not have any security implications or impacts? That's so ridiculous. Listen, I am personally torn which side to support - both options in my opinion have devastating consequences. But to claim it's totally fine to release 1,000 killers onto the street is just silly. Why don't we just release 5,000 then? And what about the point that trading 1,000 terrorists for Gilad will show everyone that kidnapping IDF soldiers is a successful venture? This issue is complicated, and in my opinion, Zvi Bar'el is not analyzing the situation accurately.

if Israel leaders do not impose conditions that Hamas cannot refuse the fate of Shalit (and other captured Israel soldiers)is doomed! Hamas will not release Shalit as long as they can propogandize his capture. Hamas does not give a damn about its people held by Israel. Hamas is a 'cancer' that must be eradicted at all costs. otherwise it will grow and consume!

Shalit must be freed, prisoners must be freed and the wrangle should be less over who than what comes afterwards. The goal is peaceful borders with a unified Palestinian leadership that can assure, as we will, respect for each other's sovereignty.

Any price? So if Hamas comes and says, "shoot 50 Israelis at random and we'll release Shalit" would we do it? What if it's "only" 25 or "only" 10? Does it matter if we shoot the innocent now or if they're killed by the terrorists we release from jail to free Gilaad? My heart cries out for Gilaad and his family, but it also cries out for the innocent Israelis (me, my wife, my kids, who knows?) who are walking the streets utterly oblivious to the fact that they will soon be murdered by the terrorists we release to free Gilaad. And what about the soldiers who will killed, wounded or, worse, kidnapped in future kidnapping attempts becasue we've taught the terrorists that it pays to kidnap our soldiers. Why is it not ok to debate the costs of these deals. Does anyone in their right mind think that that US would release 1,000 Al-Qaeida terrorists to release one captured GI in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This piece of hysterical tripe suggests there will be no deal.