Apart from the 900+ terrorists to be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, if Barghouti will be included in their number, Gilad Shalit along with his father Noam, will be the most despised, indeed hated, people in this country... despised and reviled along with the likes of Netanyahu and Ehud Barak.

He may be the only leader that all the Palestinians will follow and that could make negotiations works. I think this could be a good move in that Abbas' time as PA leader is over and he is too weak to make any peace deal. Bargouti's arrest and trial was always questioned, a member of the Palestinian Parliament he should have had diplomatic immunity, arrested in an area over which Israel has no jurisdiction and his transfer to Israel violated the Fourth Geneva Convention. He also refused to present a defense at trial maintaining it was illegitimate.

You expect Israel to "negotiate" with a terrorist animal that has on more than oh, a thousand occasions stressed his commitment to the State of Israel? For that matter, do you really expect Hamas to release its only bargaining chip? Should they release Gilad Shalit, what is to keep Israel from destroying Hamas once and for all?

First paragraph should read: "... commitment to the destruction of the State of Israel." Apologies to all for the omission. Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.

Freedom fighter or terrorist are often the same just depending which side you are on but some people are murders who just like to kill and sometimes they even wear uniforms. Was George Washington a terrorist, to the British maybe yes. Barghouti would be a good choice to replace Abbas and far better than Hamas or others.

and keep his mouth shut. this deal isn't done yet. it is not helpful for mk's and other people in positions of authority to shoot their mouths off about what the terms are, or might be, when the release date is/ or might be etc. the press also shouldn't report these stories at all. there should be a complete media blackout on all aspects of the negotiations until the deal is done. personally i think that giving back terrorists in order to release shalit will be counter productive as it will only encourage hamas and their cohorts to try and capture more soldiers in order to release more of their murderers. however if that is what the government has decided to do, at least let them get on with it in peace and quiet.

There is a huge difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. Freedom fighters target governments and government institutions. Terrorists target civilians. Please keep that in mind. That said -- there are several hundred million people in the world who idolize Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter -- but to you, me and the overwhelming majority of the civilized world, he is nothing but a common, garden-variety thug and terrorist. Right?