Perhaps the reason they refuse to negotiate is that they have nothing to negotiate with? Remember that the kidnappers of the Asheri boy hy"d killed him immediately after the kidnapping, and then made claims that they would kill him if the Gaza offensive took place, covering up the fact that they had no hostage. Unfortunately, this may be the case here. Perhaps they killed Gilad after the kidnapping -out of sheer stupidity or in-group fighting - and they are now setting a deadline so they have an excuse for his already being dead. Then they can play hero to their peers and bargain for the body. Better off not to bargain with these people. It only gives other terrorists encouragement.

Perhaps the reason they refuse to negotiate is that they have nothing to negotiate with? Remember that the kidnappers of the Asheri boy hy"d killed him immediately after the kidnapping, and then made claims that they would kill him if the Gaza offensive took place, covering up the fact that they had no hostage. Unfortunately, this may be the case here. Perhaps they killed Gilad after the kidnapping -out of sheer stupidity or in-group fighting - and they are now setting a deadline so they have an excuse for his already being dead. Then they can play hero to their peers and bargain for the body. Better off not to bargain with these people. It only gives other terrorists encouragement.

Or don't you have permission from Condi and the Cowboy ? Israel your lack of real determination once again signals to your enemies that you are a toothless and fearful little pussycat.

Israeli media, particularly websites such as ynet and haaretz, have started showing a photo of Shalit as a fresh-faced 15 year old, instead of the army-uniformed adult he is today. Could this be to send a message that a young boy was taken hostage, rather than a soldier on active duty captured as an enemy combatant and taken prisoner?

"Perhaps the reason they refuse to negotiate is that they have nothing to negotiate with?" It's the kidnappers who ARE willing to negotiate and the Israelis who AREN'T. Did you even read this article? According to your theory, perhaps Israel has killed all women and children in their jails, and thus refuse to negotiate because "they have nothing to negotiate with." Peace.

Is this really what concerns you? You are concerned that Israeli media is showing a picture of the kidnapped soldier in which he looks too young for your taste and infer manipulation?! If you want to find out about real misinformation by the media carried out closer to home, may I recommend www.honestreporting.com and www.bbcwatch.co.uk

Khalid, you must be able to understand why a government cannot negotiate with terrorists. Once the terrorists operating out of Gaza and the West Bank that kidnapped the soldier can demonstrate that such actions can be used to extort things from Israel, there will be more and more kidnappings of kids and soldiers and senior citizens, etc.

Olmert sends the IDF to pressure palestinians to release Gilad. But the terrorists know that Olmert has removed the teeth of the IDF because Condi,Bush told him to. So this sick sideshow goes on and on instead of a swift destruction of the Palestinian terrorist apparatus. Israel has forgotten how to fight and win ,and the world loves it that way. You better wake up Jewsih people,it's happening again. Israeli aircraft went back into action early Monday, hitting several targets around the Gaza Strip including a building in Gaza City where the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades has an office, Palestinians and the military said. Al Aqsa is a violent offshoot of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. >OK. Al Aqsa belongs to the PLO whose chief is a moderate and financed the terrorists at the Munich Massacre? If he uses them he is not moderate. "I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza. I want nobody to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what its like," Olmert told his Cabinet. "People are saying it's uncomfortable. It will be uncomfortable, (but) nobody dies from being uncomfortable." >Olmert is an idiot. The PLO and Hamas, and not Israel, are responsibile for what is happening. "I remain very concerned about the need to preserve Palestinian institutions and infrastructure," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Sunday. >He knows what is happening in the region, so it is an admission he wants to keep the Pal's as terrorists. Egypt has been working to broker a compromise to free the soldier and end the standoff, but negotiations were complicated by confusion over who was in charge of Shalit's fate. >So the idea there is no one to negotiate with is a new concept with Arabs? This is what the Israelis were saying always. radio rote

So does amnesty, etc etc, Palestinians are held under charges of terrorism, there are no "Women and children" in our jails, they are terrorists.

Did you even read what she posted? Remember this boy, killed several days ago? You in Gaza are masters of lies. Peace.

It might be interesting to get more infomration about the prisoners in Israeli jails. I have heard stories that some young Palestinian girls try to get arrested for attacking a checkpoint soldier with a knife in order to escape some form of honour killing by her own family at home (for having had ex-marital sex, etc.). Is this true? Can people confirm this?

then the israeli army is not at all a moral army. Tsahal has killed fourth time more palestinians than the palestinian armeg group have killed israelis. Tsahal has killed fourth time more pal civilians than the palestinian armed group have killed israeli civilians. In two weeks, the IAF has kiiled 15 palestinians civilians in Gaza. Striking targets in the middle of a densely populated area is a war crime. The IAF officers will pay for their crimes.

I don't "infer" manipulation, I assert it. This is an important point because all the machismo and righteous indignation spewing out of Israel is built on the lie that the soldier was "kidnapped". In reality, he was part of a mechanised crew in a vehicle whose guns were pointing directly towards Gaza. He wasn't there to admire the scenery, he was there to engage in combat and to fire shells at defenceless civillians. To be captured, injured or killed is an occupational hazard for a soldier. The fact that he was captured is no reason for Israel to throw her toys out of the pram.

I think the time has come to study the true nature of these two enemies, and understand the common theme to which we face in the many enemies we battle. Hamas is just like Al Qaida, and so many other Middle East extremists groups. They simply hate above all other emotion, I can't define this hate, I was raised to love life, and respect my neighbors, and thank God for all I am given. These Dogs of the Desert, they revel in this, they are too stupid to realize there is no logic in this,only adding further damage to a relationship with a world growing quite tired of these antics, at some point, the response will be absolute, and these neo-lithic minded morons will be offed, and the world will not praise them for their courage, they will scoff at their stupidity, and impotent schemes to kill innocent people for their cause. What God sends you, I ask? Does the heart of these people really reach to God, or merely rely on the interpretations, and teachings of madmen, so far as to elect them for their government? These people really have no chance, and probably shouldn't.

mr olmert you are too weak to shake hamas we mıss mr sharon

How will the IAF pay? Explain that? By taking a solders life? You guys are playing with fire here, and if you play with fire you get hurt. C'mon dude, we all know that if this guy is killed Gaza will be marked for death.... As far as the Israeli government is concerned, they don't care..... All they want to do is wipe out HAMAS and I wish they would that way we as the people of both Israel and Palestine live in peace....... The Government of Israel should have gone in dismantle the Hamas organization already....... this way I go and visit Israel and fear for my life. Your wanna be government is a Joke....... Israel, lets finish this...... and please try not to hurt innocent civilians in the process....... Good Luck and HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA...........

First the last a checked the picture seen all over the world is one of a soldier in uniform. Second you say "soldier on actuve duty captured as an enemy combatant taken prisoner" if thats the case then i'm sure you would not mind if Israel wipe out all of the combatants in Gaza, since what your saying, is that this is war and in war all is fair. The realty is that Shalit was in proper Israel doing is duty with in Israeli border. Seems that your not so much a casual observer rather than just a plain dumb one.

is your head on straight? we unfortunately have to see palestinian prisoners on t.v. almost every day. yesterday we saw that rotten snake of a woman who lured a naive israeli boy by the internet to come to ramallah and then her sweet friends waited and murdered him. she was talking on t.v. we haven't seen gilad at all - how do we know he is still alive. you expect us to believe those dirty dogs in gaza?

Listen, talking out of ignorance or out of hatred will not do anyone any favours. Assuming you are interested in understanding the problematic a bit better: A soldier who is patrolling a border is not up for grabs by anyone, no matter where his gun is pointing towards. And as for righteous indignation: imagine the following scenario. After Israel's disengagement from Gaza, the Palestinians could have moved to develop the first part of their eventual Palestinian state within Gaza. They could have used the fertile grounds left by Israeli farmers to grow their own produce, they could have built factories and created jobs instead of sending their citizens to work in Israel. Invested in education and worked towards preventing violent religious fundamentalism (instead of teaching kids in Hamas-organised summer camps to become martyrs by attaching explosives to their bodies and blowing themselves up amidst Muslim, Jewish, Christian, atheist... Israelis) . Can you imagine how dramatically this would have propelled peace efforts between the two parties? The Israeli public would have been assured by the Palestinian government that peaceful coexistence is feasible(not just in words but by actions) and the Israeli government would have tried to sell this as a success of its disengagement and pushed for further such efforts. There would have been no other option, but to enter serious negotiations in order to continue on this path to peace and expand its positive effects on everyone involved. The situation would be following a wholly different trajectory by now. Instead, Hamas got elected (see www.pmw.org for their election videos) who are determined to destroy Israel, who still refuse to explicitly recognise the right of Israel to exist. Instead, Palestinian terrorists started setting up workshops in order to build Qassam rockets that hit Israeli towns on a regular basis. And these rockets kill (yes, they do, even though the BBC chooses not tell you about that) and these rockets traumatise and these rockets make it impossible for Israel to react in any other way than it is now. If you want to argue with the above, please be my guest, but let's try to stay rational in here.

Khalid is up to his old tricks. He goes on other forums and does the same thing. He only presents Israel as the bad guy, and the terrorists as the good guys. He lies continuously, nonstop. He will go against anything you say that makes sense. He runs on automatic.

Hamas is, was, will always be a terrorist organisation. It needs to be wiped off the face of the earth. If the people of Gaza should have thought about allowing terrorist camps, weapons caches, missile launching sites, etc operate in Gaza before they elected them. Just because they were democratically elected does not give them a license to continue to act as a terrorist group with no consequences. Whatever happens in the next few days, I hope it's the end of Hamas as we all know it.

Good question Jak.

Khalid, go float down the Nile, you talking rot....again.

Could you possibly be more of a Jew-hating piece of crap? Do you not see the Palestinian propaganda machine but only what your purport to be the Israeli one? What freaking difference does the picture make when the reality is that this young man has been kidnapped and is being held hostage by a band of terrorists in a brutal attempt to free more terrorists? You may call yourself Observer, but I recommend you go to Finsbury Park to get a really good view of what we are dealing with.

Don't use the word Peace when you have no concept of what it means and how to get there.

He was not captured. Caputured is what happens during combat. He was kidnapped in an effort to free more terrorists. Get your semantics straight.

you say "The realty is that Shalit was in proper Israel doing his duty within Israeli border" Your argument is of course silly and spurious. The reality is that these soldiers belong to an army that fires shells, from a safe distance in "Israel proper", into densely populated civillian areas. They obviously felt safe because they knew that the Pals don't have the sophisticated weaponry to respond like with like. They didn't expect retribution and were caught with their pants down, and paid the price. Even if these soldiers were located in Outer Mongolia, the fact that they were firing at Gaza makes them a legitimate target for Pal fighters, defending their homes and families.