YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FREE EVEN 1 TERRORIST FOR A N ISRAELI CAPTIVE, IF YES THEY ILL ONLY KIDNAP MORE AND MORE.....

We trade 1000 murderers for Gilad today to get more kidnappings in the future?! That's sick and against our national interest. Although the Schalit family is going through hell, we cannot let our emotions get in the way of our rational thinking. The government cannot release all those future kidnappers and murderers.

but himself. Geez...talk about a sense of entitlement. Does he not know that many many families have lost their loved ones over the past 8 years of the intifada. Does he not know that many soldiers have been killed or wounded chasing down these killers so as not to cause "damage" to the "civilians". Mr Shalit is a selfish whinner. Here's a heads up for you...Many many have been killed and have gone missing. You son is probably dead...Deal with it and dont expect others to throw themselves into anyones grave. Thats how it works..I write these words with great pain...Move on and deal with it.

Enough with your demands. Accept it and move on. The price of the exchange is too high for the country. In the words of JFK: Don't ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. You know life in Israel and if it didn't work for you why did you stay? Enough is enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get him back with a raid (B"H he is still alive but alive or dead) and close all openings to outside EY to Fakistinians except emergency ones. Hamas is just using negotiation as a bs tool and anyone who has the slightest understanding of the Arab and ME mentality knows this. Fight fire with incineration.

While Gilad is in each of our hearts, And each of us feel your pain, you cannot demand "at any cost". You will not pay the cost. As much as the people of this country want your son home, you have to take into account the cost they, the people of this country, will pay. Increase in terrorism, more kidnappings, and the heavy psychological cost of defeat. This is not just about Gilad. This is about every son, and all parents, and as such you alone cannot demand "at any cost".

Essentially they are demanding that the lives of an unknown number of Israelis be exchanged for their son. Their behavior is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation.

Just as Israeli voices for Gilad Shalit’s release strongly impact negotiations, Palestinian prisoners’ yearnings for release from Israeli prisons ought also be made public. Very public!

what else would anybody do? to those who say they are 'demanding', imagine their pain for a second. you probably could not bear it for more than that.

That is what will happen to you you will be left mercilessly in hands of your enemies and your father and mother will suffer IDF rabbi will declare you DEATH Zionist writers will refuse to negotiate and release palestinians to rescue you from enemy hands THAT IS YOUR FUTURE

the return of Gilat. However, Olmert can only do so much, one has to be fair, to the Mr. Olmert too. The fact is no Jews like the current state of Gilats misfortune.Unfortunately the the issue is being manipulated and made trump up politicaL subject by certain people in Israel. And this is exactly the strategy of the enemy too. Ti is ARMSTWISTING TACTIC ! The more this issue is raised the more it is favorable to the position of the enemy. Let the parents speak up. If we dont hear them, we undermind our own existence. To Olmert, we just want to say thank you and please dont give up , Sir. Please :- (

don't you have a kurds situation, I can only imagin what will happen when a turkish soldier will be kidnapped by kurds, mmm maybe masacar, and israel don't negotiate with terorist with blood on their hands.

Olmert has many failings and few positive sides, but the one thing he did not do is abandon Gilad Shalit. Noam Shalit wants to forget, but the Second Lebanon War and "Cast Lead" were both started to rescue Gilad Shalit. In both these wars, many people paid a much heavier price than did Noam Shalit.

no person has the right to hold his own country hostage or blackmail it and politicians into doing something that is harmful to its own people: Israeli's are at risk if hundreds of murderers are released- is this what the Free -Shalit people want? This has gone too far- . People won't be able to walk the streets safely- and it will be your fault. The demands have become totally unreasonable and irrational.

Two other soldiers died when Gilad was taken. Two soldiers were killed last week on the Jordanian border. Jeopardizing national security for the sake of the release of one soldier would be irresponsible of the prime minister. It is understandable that Noam would want to risk everything for his son. A responsible state is somewhat dispassionate in its choices while recognizing the huge importance of returning Gilad home.

You Benny are full of BS- you write these words with lots of pain- cause you are hateful! How can you say Mr Shalit is a selfish whinner- while I do agree that freeing of terrorists is a risk- sustaining and feeding them is insulting- its a very difficult position- and it's very easy for you to critizise - Benny who gave you authority- you are no Hero- you dont have nothing good to say - close your trap- move on and deal with it

And no one says, the heavy price is --->everything. They want everything! I guarantee if we gave them what they claim they want, they would want more. Nothing satiates the appetite of a rabid dog until they have consumed it all. Until Israel speaks to the world proclaiming the Palestinians whom we have all enabled want everything this stupid dance will go on 'ad nauseam.' The truth lies within the Abbas santioned posters which clearly show all of Israel, Palestine. Both Israel the puppets and our puppet masters know this, believe me. The only component lacking is that we do not speak it. Nor do we prove it true.

Sorry, you are wrong. Sorry, this whole affair is wrong. Part of the horror of war is the consequence of being taken captive. Prisoner release only emboldens ones captors. It is a circle with no end! Especially when one deals with a entity which declares their agenda, MY END. Exchanging people like Samir Kuntar who runs to Iran to cuddle with the devil himself is absurd. Kuntars salacious statements that he will not rest until all of Israel is destroyed proves the head of the snake needs to be cut not exchanged for a newer more evil one. Look, if it is ok for Turkey to slaughter kurds for decades with no consequence and for no one to a single word to Turkey for the Armenian slaughter, why is it not ok for Israel to take Gaza by the throat and let them know we mean business??? After all, look how squeaky clean you came out of it?

I believe your statement about the Shalit family not knowing how many deaths will result from an exchange to free Gilad is a mistake. Who are we negotiating with? We aren't talking to a recognized power in the world. We aren't negotiating with a country, we are negotiating with a terrorist organization. They and many groups like it have a plethora of people who would love to kill innocent Israelis. If it's not the people the Israelis have jailed, it's someone else that will pull the trigger. Israel has the moral high ground in this scenario: we have given up thousands to save only a few because we value human life so highly. If we don't do the exchange, Gilad Shalit is for sure dead, and the terrorists that are free now will harm Israel. If we do the exchange, Gilad Shalit is B''H alive (or the Shalits will have a proper burial for their son), and the terrorists that we free will be the ones to harm Israelis. May Gilad Shalit be freed immediately.

"Moral victories" are meaningless in the Middle East because the meaning of morality is so skewed and polarized here to have absolutely no value. The fact of the matter is that both Hamas (and its supporters) and Israel (and its supporter) will claim a "moral victory" because "morality" is merely a tool to justify one's actions here, not a code to abide by. Besides, risking millions to save only one is not "valuing human life so highly". It is delusional, foolish, and terribly short-sighted. I agree that Shalit must be freed or (chas v'shalom) his body returned to us, but not at the price of another of Olmert's "moral victories".

When terrorists believe that even if captured they will be released you encourage terrorism. The idea that terrorists are so full of hate that they do not reckon the costs to themselves is mistaken. As for your moral ground argument, all the Jews who died in the Spanish Inquisition had the high moral ground. All they had to do was convert and renounce Judaism. A lot of good that the high moral ground did them. Nor did the low moral ground hurt their oppressors.

Both of you have points to be sure. Sidney, regarding the inquisition, the jews that chose not to convert did so knowing what would happen. The moral high ground rarely offers you something positive in this world. It is the whole "why do bad things happen to good people debate". The short answer is that God wants you to be good because that is the right thing to do, not because it gets you anything (in this world anyway). To Joe, imagine you are a soldier in the IDF. You would want to know that, if you get captured chas v'shalom, the Israeli Government would do anything possible to get you back. As it stands, a prisoner exchange is the only action that can be taken at this point. We have no idea where exactly Gilad is so we can't pull off a search and rescue mission.