God forbid. Any price? and what would you say if his life was spared and just 2 israelis were killed due to the terrorists released in the bargain? Any price??? I am very sorry, but there IS a price. It is a terrible situation, but he is but one israeli soldier, downed in the line of duty.

And if a crime family kidnapped someone and asked for the release of 1000+ criminals from jail should we agree ? Of course not. The reason Shalit was kidnapped is because Israel previously surrendered to extortion. There are only really only two questions .. Does Israel want to end kidnapping or encourage it ?

I doubt if any sane person would write an article like this un-prompted. This is a deliberately commissioned article to prepare the public for the unacceptable deal that has probably already been made. This is a deal made from weakness & lack of resolve regardless of the longer term consequences. Indeed, every effort should be made to obtain Shalit's release - but these efforts do not include negotiating with criminal blackmailers & terrorists. Instead, we should make the price for his continued captivity too high to bear. We have the means to inflict harsh punishment on Gaza until Shalit is released. And we should make it clear that if Shalit is harmed, they will regret it very much. The article says we should pay any price - but the correct answer is how much are the Palestinians prepared to pay.

cut the water to gaza till he is set free and cut the water for a week after every rocket into the negev !!! Olmert the father of the traitor must go !!

In my opinion Dan Shavit apear to be interested more to free Palestinian terorists ,rather than to free Shalit ! The eliberated criminals shall provide only more and more "shalits"...

All of the talkbacks as I write this (#1-5) make sense. The article, made up almost entirely ignoratio elenchi and demagoguery, fails to make sense. All of us want to safely retrieve all of our soldiers held hostage, but not at the cost of even more being kidnapped and held hostage in the future. We cannot sell tomorrow's soldiers for today's hostages. As other talkbackers have rightly said, we're paying the price now for having weak and short-sighted governments in the past who did so. Paqid Yirmeyahu Israeli Orthodox Jew Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming Jews & non-Jews www.netzarim.co.il

you arguments may have some merit if Israel was provided a verifiable proof of life, absent that the probability of Israel releasing convicted murderers just for the remains of a dead captive is not only counterproductive but is against current Israeli public policy and the beginning of sliding down a slippery slope without any hope of arresting their fall

A release of many not only will result in the released committing more murders (not merely a kidnapping) of Jews, but also encourage kiddnappings. The author is a fool. Shalit has been dead for all purposes since the day he was abducted... the only real chance was a rescue operations. It's fools like this author that encourage more kidnappings, to get more prisoners. Maybe Israel needs to instate the death penalty against Pal Arab terrorists so as to deny fodder for kidnappings.

Do you remember Shiek Yassin the founder and director of Hamas who was swapped and how many people died after that 1000. No if more than one person is killed for this soldier it is not worth it. Try and justify your argument to all the people and families mothers fathers and children who would be killed or have been killed by terrorist that have been swapped. Has Israel stupped so low that we are grabbing at any straw.

abducted soldiers. If a prisoner exchange happens more soldiers will be kidnapped again. So what is the solution, its a no win solution. As the PA has knowledge of the whereabouts of the detainees and if they dont then they really have problems, there is one solution. Set a deadline and if the soldiers are not released take whatever action is required to liberate the soldiers. And do it in a way that a soldier from the beacon of democracy in the middle east, Israel is never kidnapped again. An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth, the liberals have brought on all these problems. God bless all the soldiers of Israel.

Just plain wrong....and dangerous too.

will it have enough backbone to not give in to terrorist demands 100 to 1 exchanges is not the way to go....it only invites futher kidnapings and more loopsided exchanges... the heros of the tanach such as gideon with G-ds help actualy reversed the odds.... in gideons case 300 defeated several thousand it is time to get back to G-ds standard ...the writtin Torah

...for a drug dealer with connections in high places, but not for a kid that was just doing his duty?

Any price ? I think not. By releasing large amount of terrorists for Shalit it is bound to cost at least one more life or one more captured soldier. A reasonable exchange. 1 : 1 or even at a stretch 1 : 10. a limit must be set, and we can never go beyond that even if my son is captured

especially those with an opinion from outside Israel. One Israeli soldier is worth the lives of all those palestianian terrorists in jail. I only pray that none of you are ever faced with the nightmare that Gilad and is family are now facing.

............released terrorists?

I always had the conviction also, "no way" releasing 1,000's of terrorists only to put them back on the street. But I think I tend to agree somewhat with this article (and with Sharon #15) in that Gilad's life is certainly worth much more than 1,000 terrorists and we always say that we never leave a soldier on the battlefield, except now we have. I say let's make the exchange - and then go in "reciprocate" in regard to the kidnapping and then we can go and deal with those 1,000 terrorists like we know how once they become targets for us again. Although, on the other hand, our current gov't officials who would make the decision to reciprocate have absolutely no guts to pay the enemy back in their own currency.

I was in the 73 war so don't tell me I have no say Israel is a Jewish country not a Israeli country. I was also almost caught in the 1974 terrorist attack in Kiryat Shimonah which 26 were killed. 1 life for 1000 dead Jews who is the heartless one you have a very short memory. That was how Hamas and suicide bombings were started was by one of these exchanges with the founder being released. I hope you can live with that in your heart if one of these released terrorist kill some innocent children in a suicide blast.

IF YOU RELEASE SO MANY PRISONERS IN EXCHANGE FOR ONE TODAY, TOMORROW THEIR WILL BE 100 MORE GILAD SHALIT'S, AND THEN WHERE WILL WE BE. WE WILL HAVE FREED EVERY PRISONER OF VALUE TO THE TERRORISTS ALREADY.

Sharon, we are not cold hearted fools, but we are able to see further than our noses. To release the prisoners in exchange for Galit (and I am sure there isnt an Israeli anywhere who wouldnt like to see him freed), would be purely and simply a short sighted gamble by Olmert to increase his popularity. Do you really think that these murderers and terrorists will go back to freedom and turn a new leaf? I dont think so. We will just have more of the same. More murder and more Galits. Sorry, but I havent seen or heard anything to make me think things would be different.

The author doesnt even mention whether Shallit is alive or not which is the most important factor. If Israel wants him back, all they need to do is a major incursion with the sole intention of arresting Haniyeh. Then we can swap one for one and bring in the death penalty for future captured terrorists. This is what Russia did in Gazza when one of their people got kidnapped and it worked.

Shalit should definitely be brought back at any price, but the Palestinians should be the ones to pay it. How about this? Every would-be suicide bomber caught anywhere shall be taken to the border, shot in the head, wrapped in pig fat, and have his/her corpse impaled on a spike to rot in the hot sun. I think that will make an impression, won't it?

Marwan Bargouti - a convicted murderer and a very high class prisoner everytime the palestians was somebody high class they know how to get him back .. kidnap another Gilad Shalit. The man is also great at manipulating the west and Israels left he could sell the idea of a single state and there would be alot on Israels left who would see it as a very reasonble proposal to be considered. Men directly responsible for murder of politicians and ordinary people... does anybody believe they arre going to go home and start supporting non violent resistance and become the new Ghandis? They will go back have a heros return and eventualy they will get back to their bomb making, and attampts to kill more Israelis. There are ways to get Gilad Shalit back that doesnt involve releasing hundreds of prisoners many of them murderers or high class terrorists. Why doesnt Olmert go to the US or even Russia for help solviong this say he will not release all those men under any circumstances and if there is going to be any talking with Abbas or anybody else we want our man back. The US might not want anything to do with Hamas but they are making every effort to get cosy with Abbas training his security forces ( half of them support one of the terror groups ) they are providing weapons and money to Abbas directly. They tell Abbas you dont even get that if Israel doesnt get Gilad Shalit unbconditionaly then he will think twice about whose side to take the US and their rewards or hamas. Russia wants to start giving money again fine get the US to talk with Putin let him say to Abbas unconditional release or no money or politcal support. Olmert as usual is looking for the easy way out which the weak men take and thats say this is what you want I am not happy but eventualy I will give into your demands and hamas know this they have even said its just a matter of time till Olmert accepts their demands. The man is going to destroy Israel allways looking for the easy way thats why he is going to accept hamas demands and why he has fallen in love with the arab plan it solves all his problems even if it is simply about Israel putting its hands up and saying to the arabs you won in thre end guys we should have known we could have never beat you. The arab plan will also be just the first there will be many more of these plans everytime the arabs want something else same as there will be more kidnapings.

US & UK have a policy of no negotiations its if you kidnap any of our people you return them unconditionly because we wont negotiate and as a result there are very few attempted kidnapings. When Iran took the British marines and sailors and demanded Iranian prisoners in exchange Tony Blair said no way and in the end Ahmajinidad realised that holding onto these people wasnt brining any rewards and the longer he held them the more he lost international support. Israel has a soilder kidnapped its you tell us your demands and we will accept your demands even Sharon the hardliner released 400 Hezbollah prisoners in exchange for 2 dead soilders and an Israeli civilian guilty of drug dealing. Can anybody imagine the US saying here are 400 prisoners for 2 corpses or here are 1000 people including murderers and high value prisoners for a single soilder. Israel has become a weak country where there is no will to fight for its best interests anymore today its take the easy way .... there are no more Ben Gurions or Golda Meirs in Israeli politics only the weak fools who want an easy life ... there would never have been an Israel if these people had been running things in 1948 they would have accepted arab demands to go somewhere else.

Shalom Sharon. 1) You are right- One Jewish soldier is worrth more than a thousand Ishmaelites, but when it comes to a prisoner exchange there . I would suggest you consult a "Good" Rabbi to see what the Halacha says about the matter. If it were up to me, I would release these beasts and then hunt down and kill everyone of them. 2) As for your point about Jews from the exile not being allowed to critisize. Let me remind you that God gave the Land of Israel to all the Jewish people. The fact that millions live outside the Land of their own choice does not prevent them from having strong (often stronger than "locals") feelings for the walfare of all the people of Eretz Yisrael. I,myself am extremely proud that you had the courage to leave the exile and raise your family in the Jewish Land. May we soon witness the ingathering of all the Jews of the world to Eretz Yisrael

Get Shali back at any price and set the stage for the next kidnapping! What needs to be done here is for us to send Barghouti back to them one piece at a time. First his right ear with a 2 hour deadline for the return of shali, then his left ewar with an hour deadline, then his right hand with a half hour deadline etc. I think that they will get the message and Shalit will come home alive and in one piece!

let us only trade for a very minimum and if not turns off the electric and water till they get the message

Should have been done at the very beginning with no exchange except for one little problem did I know read somewhere maybe in ynet that Peres owned part of the elecrical company that supplies Gaza I could be wrong but I thought I read that??

& i can say more that the price of this must pay the idiot PM olmert who is still sitting in his chair instead of all the corruption he is involved in & instead of all his mistake in last summer war & disgrace he brought to israel .& when we remember him swearing after the kidnapping of soldiers what he will do with hizbullah & that army will return the soldiers & we see the results of his crazy policy.