It's just a charade by our fearless leader Olmert & his side-kick Barak to do nothing - just playing politics for self-interest. Every word from the PMO is meant to deceive the public. Every statement by Barak is just meaningless hot air. The bottom line is that we are getting screwed, Shalit is getting screwed, & Hamas has won another victory over our inept politicians who have basically surrendered to Hamas. Olmert /Barak/Livni/Yishai don't care about Shalit, Sderot, or the entire state of Israel - they care only about their own narrow self-interest. And I might add, the media generally plays along & allows our crap politicians to weave webs of lies & spin, deception, & misinformation.

You are only saying that our politicians don't act . Whot would you do ?

Olmert and co continually cause more damage and make more mistakes because they completely misunderstand the Arab mentality. Olmert seems to think that he is discussing patents with a US attorney and not dealing with a people who only respect force and strength. Barak is trying to hold onto his chair for as long as possible and shows no signs of either morality or putting his country first so it seems like we must wait for the police and Mazuz to put us out of our misery. Please let it be soon, Mike

Terry says the govt don't act. Bar wants to know what Terry would do? I have a suggestion. Retake Gaza, destroy Hamas and call it Israel. It will cost lives and be very painful, the world will hate Israel, - but there's nothing new there. Shalit could also be killed in the conflict, of course. Oh, how I pray for wisdom for Israel's Government.

and the rest of the government can go for free.

Gazza is Egyptian land. Israel should either take back control of this area and kill all radical elements......or make Egypt take back the responsibility of controlling its own land. Sitting back and doing nothing is suicidal!

Im not sure what Terry would do, but I would figure out how to make the Gazan's life even more dangerous, perilous, and uncomfortable, to the point of absolute starvation, till our soldier is returned healthy.They started this mess two years ago. THEY have to suffer the consequences. I'd personally make it Ten eyes for an eye, and ten teeth for a tooth. Also: Id cut off ALL visits to any and all Terrorists prisoners till they'd reciprocate. That's for a start.

The time to obtain Shalit's release was immediately after the kidnapping. An immediate harsh response was called for. The border should have been sealed & all traffic stopped. Electricity should have been cut off on the same day. Gaza infrastructure should have been targeted & destroyed. The homes of Hamas leaders should have been bombed. Our official policy should have been that he must be released unconditionally or we continue the above measures. This was the best chance for his release. Now, two years have passed. Everything we have done since then has only shown weakness & indecision. The truce without the release of Shalit made our position even weaker. The final straw was the agreement with Hezbollah which only demonstrated to all that our gov't. will give in to any demand, no matter how unreasonable. Our gov't. has made it plain that these deals, the truce, etc. is in their interest (even though not in the country's interest). All of the media attention, the interviews with the families, etc. has convinced our adversaries that the pressure is on Olmert to deliver - that he has more to lose than they do (which is not necessarily the case in reality). Of course, today is today & what we should have done no longer matters, except to illustrate the ineptness of our leaders. What would I do today? This is the part few will like. I would end the negotiations completely. I would announce that the State of Israel cannot decide national policy based on one captive. No prisoners will be released. Not one. At the same time, I would announce that no truce is possible without Shalit's release. Without fanfare or threats or any announcement at all, officially, I would begin moving troops to the Gaza border area. At the same time, I would begin reducing electricity supplies & fuel by say 5% a week. The border crossings would only be open one day a week for food aid only. Then, I would wait - with no speeches, no threats, nothing. If Kassams or morters are fired at us, I would respond by targeting Hamas military installations, offices, & other Hamas assets. If Kassam fire & other attacks escalate, then our attacks would similarly escalate. If at the end of say 6 weeks, the Egyptians could not secure the release of Shalit (without our participation), then we should begin targeting every Hamas leader we can locate & begin incursions deep into Gaza to destroy Hamas infrastructure & inflict as many casualties as possible. I would not invade Gaza nor re-occupy the area immediately. We have the resources to cause them much pain without a large-scale invasion. All the while, as we will certainly be criticized internationally, I would stay on message - our only comment by every spokesman should be "We want Shalit released" - nothing more. If we show that kind of determination, there is a chance that Shalit could be released. If not, then we should plan for a large scale invasion of Gaza with the goal of physically eliminating Hamas. That's my answer.

The very basic rules that ensure our continued existence as a nation is being threatened by the inability of our government to find their balls, go in and rescue Gilad Shalit. We do NOT leave our sons and daughters captive. We do NOT abandon one of our own because of political pressure. The day we realise that we need to win back our dignity, we might rescue not only Gilad and our soldiers in Lebanon; we may even save the coutry from destruction.

I WOULD re-occupy at least parts of Gaza. Say you know what we tried pulling out, we'd tried negotiations and it didn't work. BTW, if we have to go back to Lebanon again as a result of a Hizbollah action, we won't leave there either. However, one problem. Israel has put itself where it is dependent on the US and they will put us under pressure. One thing our MKs could do which is simple - but not easy for them - is to shut up. Stop making threats and boasts EVERYONE knows you won't follow through on.

The army of Israel is a shell of what it was. It doesnt have the discipline nor does it have the commanders and or soldiers willing and able to do anything. Point in fact 2006 saw an army that at best can be described as inept. And I am being generous. We can blame everyone and anyone but it comes down to a single problem. The Isreali Army is a reflection of the Isreali people. Lazy, inept, showboaters, loud mouths and garden variety schnorrers and tuchus leckers. The hard pulling is done by very very few soldiers and they are under the constant watch of every two bit self righteous group out there. You have usurpers like Peace Now and other groups who are agents for the EU and other anti-semitic groups. You also have a culture of rabid anti Jewish religion that has alienated many good people from serving. And finally as I have mentioned on many many occasions. The two singular watershed events that have caused Israel great damage was the forced expulsion and impoverishment of 10K Jews in Gaza and the merciless beating of kids in Amona by the present PM. These two events have done tremendous damage and will, I am afraid, lead to israels undoing. No amout of bravado can change the current situation. The arabs feel they have you on the run and as a result they push and push. Its time to kick ass with no questions asked, if you can. If you cant you are cooked.

PLEASE SAVE US FROM ZIONIZIM ...

To all you senior hamas leaders:are we nearing to the sorrowful truce? andi mihakfar.