There is nothing else he can do. Not an enviable position to be in. On this day of fasting may our prayers be for a fair and acceptable agreement and the immediate return of Gilad Shalit.

it's in their blood. They have proved this time and time again. So what do we do? turn our back on our little solider? We cannot and must not do that. Just as we have hunted down all those murderers of Israelis, we can do it again - but at least our boy will be back home. Come ON!! we have a reputation for being a nation of cunning smart asses - let's put that reputation back on the board!!!

Hard to believe we have finally found an elected official who actually realizes he has to safeguard the thousands of innocent civilians that the selfish Shalit family wants to subject yet again to the tender mercies of these murderers. Soldiers are supposed to give their lives for innocent children- not the reverse!

Why are you so concerned that those blood thirsty savages get a fair and acceptable agreement? They kidnapped our soldier - they crossed the border and kidnapped him!!!! You had better go and eat something - it seems your blood pressure has dropped to a dangerous level – you’re delusional, not to mention something I can’t put in print.

"We will not agree to expose our citizens to terror" The Israeli Gov exposes its civilians (Jews/Muslims/Christians etc) to ongoing Palestinian armed resistance by virtue of the fact that Israel is continuing its brutal and oppressive occupation of Palestinian land. It is truly terrible that the Israeli Gov continues to expose its citizens to danger for the sake of stealing further Palestinian land in the WB to appease a minority of Jews with a ‘god-given-right’ delusion/mindset.

There is a very simple solution but the gov. is absolutely blind, deaf and very very dumb. Give Hamas 48 hours to allow a visit to Shalit by his parents, an Israeli doctor, someone from the Red Cross (for whatever they are worth) and 2 gov. officials. If they refuse (very likely) then IMMEDIATELY cut off ALL visits to ALL terrorist prisoners. In addition, stop ALL mail, books, ALL Red Cross intervention, take away ALL the TV's and stop ALL the college courses we are giving them. They get food. Period. After all, we don't know if or what Gilad is receiving and from here on in, it's tit for tat. And if they threaten Gilad/us, give them 24 hours to come through or we start executing convicted killers who would have been executed long ago in any other country - ten a day for a starter. Sound crazy, fanatic, dilusional? Well we're dealing with crazy, fanatic, dilusional people who understand only strength, and if you don't understand that, you are commiting suicide.

Hamas knows that their prisoners are having a great time in Israeli prison and are safe-guarded by endless "human rights organizations". Hamas has time and wants to turn Shalit's capture into a victory. There is a simple way to deny Hamas victory, bring Shalit back alive and avoid killing anyone. Netanyahu could start intensive building of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria while formally annexing existing Jewish villages. Seeing that they have something to lose, Hamas would immediately release Shalit.

It falls on deaf ears :( The government don't have the balls to cancel prisoner visits.

You know, Matty, massacres in 1929, all-out genocidal offensive in 1948, the 1950's terror attacks, the founding of Fatah in the early 1960's, long before the Six-Day War, with the set goal of eradicating all of Israel for the sake of Palestine... A few examples, so to speak. What I also find troubling is your racism, one I find shared by many in the political left. And no, it's not racism against Jews - it's racism against Arabs. Palestinians, in particular. Time and time again, you have argued that the reaction of clear and present attacks against unarmed civilians with the full intent of causing direct harm to *them* and not to armed troops, as practiced by Palestinian "resistance" organizations, to be justified. That it is a natural and inevitable response, and that only if we remove the external stimuli (Israel) will the otherwise static group (Palestinian Arabs) revert to non-violent paths. Here's the thing. By that line of argument you strip Palestinians of their humanity. There have been plenty of military occupations across the world, the vast majority of them far more brutal than anything Israeli forces will ever imagine. And yet I don't recall suicide bombings, roadside bombs, shooting attacks, bus bombings, all directed against *civilians* and not armed forces... to be the norm. For that to be the norm, a large-scale campaign of dehumanization of the enemy (any Israeli, particularly Jewish) would have to exist. And for others (you, for example) to be there to justify every violent Palestinian act as being the result of some Israeli act - thus forever entrenching the premise that Palestinians have no responsibility for their actions. None whatsoever. And that, Matty, is racist.

The HAMAS Charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of all Israeli/Jews. The PALS began the terror in 1920, 1929, and 1936 massacres of Jews. They have escalated to worldwide terror with the hijackings in the 70's, Munich massacre, etc. They were thrown out of Jordan after Black September and Lebanon too. No Arab country wants them because they cause trouble where ever they go. But on the other hand, even if no Arab country will accept them, they are the phony excuse for Radical Islam to blow up the WTC, Pentagon, Bali, Mumbai, and hundreds more. The PALs never ever had a govt in Israel at any time in history. They were nomads and squatted in Israel when it was convenient. When they PALs started the Intifada and blew up hotels, cafeterias, nightclubs, buses, etc. We began our highly effective counter terror measures including roadblocks, border crossings, and the FENCE. This was highly successful and today terror attacks are rare but PALs and now in a prison of their own making. When PALs are not trying to kidnap soldiers and journalists or murdering us, they are murdering each other just like the HAMAS coup and the hundreds of FATAH they killed. The buttom line is that HAMAS will not settle for less than the total destruction of Israel and murder of all Israelis and Jews. Therefore they must be expelled. To remove the incentive of kidnapping, terrorists are now being killed at the scene of the terror or after all useful information is extracted. We must lead the world in the fight against Global Islamic Terror and they must be totally destroyed.