-RELEASE OF GILAD SHALITAs human being, Jew and an Israeli it is not easy for me to write this personal opinion,

but regardless of everything I feel responsibility toward my country to do such so. Lets see first facts, later on moral and ethical issues and on the end contradictory followed with possible security consequences about everything connected to this misfortunate young Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas 5 yrs. ago and hidden from family, friends even from visit by International Red Cross!!! FACTS: Personal life/ Gilad Shalit was born on 28 August 1986 in Nahariya, Israel, to Noam and Aviva Shalit, along with an older brother and a younger sister, and were raised from the age of two in Mitzpe Hila in the Western Galilee. He graduated with distinction from Manor Kabri High School. Shalit began military service in the Israel Defense Forces in July 2005, and "despite a low medical profile, he preferred to serve in a combat unit, following his older brother, Yoel, into the armored corps. He holds dual Israeli and French citizenship. Gilad Shalit (Hebrew: ), is an Israeli and French national and an IDF soldier who was captured from Israel on 25 June 2006 by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid. Shalit was abducted near the Kerem Shalom crossing (in Israel), and has been held as a hostage at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. As of October 11, 2011, it was reported that a deal may soon secure his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity, though Shalit has not yet been freed. Hamas has refused requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross to allow the ICRC to visit Shalit, and claims that any such visit could betray the location where Shalit is being held captive. Multiple human rights organizations have stated that the terms and conditions of Shalit's confinement are contrary to international humanitarian law. To date, the only contact between Shalit and the outside world since his capture has been three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit holds dual French and Israeli citizenship, a fact that encouraged France and the European Union to be involved in efforts to release him from his captors. In exchange for his release, Hamas is demanding the release of 1,000 prisoners Palestinians

serving prison sentences in Israel as well as all female and underage Palestinians convicted and serving sentences. A major sticking point in negotiations between the sides for the release of Shalit is Hamas insistence on the release of Marwan Bargouti, currently serving five life sentences in Israel for murder.

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which released a report in September 2009, has also called for Shalit to be released. In its May 27, 2011 Deauville Declaration, the G8 demanded the release of Gilad Shalit. Shalit's capture is often referred as kidnapping, because the soldier has been granted none of the human rights due to a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions, that entitles them to receive visits from the Red Cross and to communicate with family members, and a ransom, even if not of a monetary nature, has been demanded for his return. The Red Cross Director-General Yves Daccord also stated that The Schalit family has the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son. Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that he will revoke benefits and privileges such as university education from Palestinian militants in Israeli jails, in response to Hamass refusal to let the International Red Cross visit Shalit. He was the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants since Nachshon Wachsman in 1994.Shalit, holding a rank of corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his abduction, has since been promoted to Staff Sergeant. His capture/ Early on Sunday morning, 25 June 2006, Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants who infiltrated an Israeli army post on the Israeli side of the southern Gaza Strip border after crossing through an underground tunnel near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. During the attack, two Palestinian militants and two IDF soldiers were killed and three others wounded, aside from Shalit, who reportedly suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound after his tank was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. Shalit's captors issued a statement on Monday, 26 June 2006, offering information on Shalit if Israel agreed to release all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18, who were held without charges and tried without the right of defense. The statement came from the Izz ad-Din alQassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas), and a previously unknown group calling itself the Army of Islam. On 14 June 2007 Israel Army Radio published a report that said that the army had received a specific warning on 24 June 2006, the day before Shalit was captured, about a planned capture. According to the report, Israeli security forces entered the Gaza Strip on 24 June 2006 and detained two brothers described as Hamas members. The report said that the brothers were transferred to Israel for interrogation, and that the information extracted formed the basis for the specific warning that militants would try to enter Israel through tunnels to capture soldiers stationed near Gaza. Shalit became the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. His abduction and the

following cross-border raid by Hezbollah, resulting in the abduction of the bodies Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev into Lebanon, occurred prior to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon during summer 2006. Hamas high-ranking commander Abu Jibril Shimali, whom Israel considers responsible for coordinating the abduction of Shalit, was killed during the violent clashes between Hamas and the al-Qaida-affiliated Jund Ansar Allah organization in Gaza in August 2009.

Rescue attempts/Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on 28 June 2006 to search for Shalit. According to David Siegel, a spokesman at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the abducted Israeli This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit. On the same day, four Israeli Air Force aircraft flew over Syrian President Bashar Assad's palace in Latakia, as an IDF spokesperson said that Israel views the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of Hamas. The operation did not succeed in finding Shalit. On 29 June, the commander of the Israeli Southern Command, Aluf Yoav Galant, confirmed that Shalit was still in Gaza. Israel's Minister of Justice, Haim Ramon, added that Shalit was being held in southern Gaza, specifically. The military correspondent for the Israel Broadcasting Authority said that Shalit was being held captive in Rafah, and that there was indication that he was still alive. However, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Miri Regev said: we are not convinced he is being held in southern Gaza only that he is being held in Gaza On 1 July, the BBC reported that Shalit had been treated by a Palestinian doctor for a broken hand and a light shoulder wound. Israeli governmental authorities threatened that the sky will fall if Shalit is harmed. On the same day, Shalit's captors issued another demand to the Israelis, demanding that Israel release an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners (in addition to all female and young prisoners, as previously demanded) and end Israel's incursions into Gaza. Two days later, the captors issued a 24-hour ultimatum for meeting their demands, threatening unspecified consequences if Israel refused. Hours after the ultimatum was issued, Israel officially rejected the demands, stating that: "there will be no negotiations to release prisoners". Diplomatic efforts/After Shalit's capture, the Papal Nuncio to Israel, Archbishop Antonio Franco, made an unsuccessful attempt to secure Shalit's release via the Catholic Church's Gaza-based parish. In September 2006, Egyptian mediators received a letter written by Shalit in which he wrote that he was alive and well. The handwriting was confirmed to be that of Shalit. In October, Egypt was also reported to be negotiating with Hamas on behalf of Israel for Shalit's release. On 28 October 2006, the Popular Resistance

Committees (PRC) said in a statement that all three parties had agreed to a proposal by Egyptian mediators regarding Shalit's release. The PRC did not provide details, but said that the Egyptian proposal would include the release of Palestinians held by Israel. It was the first time since Shalit's capture that any of the factions indicated that his release might be imminent. In November 2006, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal indicated that Shalit was alive and in good health. On 9 January 2007, Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the captors, asserted that Shalit has not been harmed at all ... He is being treated in accordance with Islamic values regulating the treatment of prisoners of war. However, he threatened, We have managed to keep the soldier in captivity for six months and we have no problem keeping him for years.On 17 January 2007, one of the captor groups, the Army of Islam headed by Mumtaz Dormush, claimed that Shalit was held exclusively by Hamas. On 8 March 2007, The Jerusalem Post reported that an agreement had been reached with Hamas over the number of prisoners Israel would release in return for Shalit. Israel and Hamas were still negotiating specific prisoners that Hamas wanted freed in return for Shalit.

On 7 April 2007, it was reported that Shalit's captors had transferred to Israel, through Egyptian mediators, a list of Palestinian prisoners they wanted freed. The list included approximately 1,300 names, some of which were high-ranking Fatah members. On 4 February 2008, it was reported that Hamas had sent Shalit's family a second letter written by him. The handwriting was confirmed to be that of Shalit. On 25 June 2007, a year after Shalit's capture, the military wing of Hamas, Iz a-Din al-Qassam, released an audio tape in which Shalit is heard sending a message to his family, friends, and the Israeli government and army, and appealing for a prisoner-swap deal to be reached to secure his release. Shalit said that his medical condition was deteriorating, and that he required immediate and lengthy hospitalization. Gilad's father Noam Shalit met with former United States President Jimmy Carter during Carter's April 2008 visit to Israel. Carter planned to visit Khaled Meshal of Hamas in Damascus later. Noam Shalit said that the fact that Carter is not considered pro-Israel could be beneficial in securing his son's release. On 9 June 2008, it was reported that Hamas sent Shalit's family a third letter. The group had promised to send them a third letter after mediation from Carter. The handwriting was confirmed to be Shalit's. On 12 August 2008, Hamas said that it was suspending talks on Shalit's release, demanding a complete lifting of the Israeli siege. The decision angered Egypt, a mediator for Shalit's release. Hamas criticized the Egyptians for linking the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Shalit's release, a condition to which Hamas refuses to agree. On 20 August 2008, in his briefing to the United Nations Security Council, the Under-SecretaryGeneral of the UN appeared to link the decision to release 200 Palestinian prisoners to the case, though the Hamas spokesman saw it as an attempt to strengthen Palestinian internal divisions by releasing only those loyal to the Fatah faction. On May 11, 2010, the president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev called for Gilad Shalit to be freed "as soon as possible". He made the call

while meeting Hamas leaders in Damascus, Syria. "The Russian president urged solving the problem of releasing Israeli citizen Gilad Shalit as soon as possible," spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said. Russia is the only country that has direct dialogue with Hamas. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal reportedly said they would only consider releasing the soldier when Israel resumed talks to free Palestinian prisoners. PA President Mahmoud Abbas called for the release of Shalit in a press conference with visiting German President Christian Wulff.

Negotiations for release/ Shalit's father had blamed the US for blocking talks on his son's release. Netanyahu responded to a pilgrimage march, called by Shalit's father for his release by saying he is willing to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit, but that top Hamas leaders would not be among those released. In early 2011, Egyptian-moderated negotiations continued between the Israeli government, represented by David Meidan, and Hamas, represented by Ahmed Jabari. Haaretz reported that Meidan proposed a prisoner swap and threatened that if Hamas rejected this proposal, no swap would occur; Hamas responded by warning that an end to negotiations would lead to Shalit's "disappearance." Negotiations were hung up over disagreements between the two parties regarding Israel's unwillingness to release all of the so-called "senior prisoners" into the West Banka demand Hamas rejectsand regarding the particulars of releasing prisoners who were leaders of Hamas and other organizations. Release deal reached/ On October 11, 2011 the Al Arabiya network first reported that Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on Gilad Shalit. Netanyahu convened a special Cabinet meeting to approve the layout of the Shalit deal. Shalit's release negotiations include the release of 1,027 Hamas and Palestinian prisoners by Israel. MORAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES: It is well known in the world moral and ethical values when it comes to the fight of our IDF forces whether it is limited army operation or war. The very same values apply when there are our prisoners involved since there is no other army in this world which went into the military actions on the large scale as we did for our prisoners captured in Lebanon and Gilad Shalit in Gaza Strip. Also whoever knows little bit more about sophisticated and dangerous operations our army is taking whenever there are wounded soldiers in the actions, and no matter which great risks such actions

involved? That was the base of our IDF since its existence and we all Israelis are very proud of it. Also every soldier who goes into the Army knows that his Army and his country will do anything to save him or to bring him back into safe, no matter where he is. The very same values apply for Israeli citizens and just remember action in Entebbe, where our planes went thousands of kilometers into unknown with Special Forces to free hostages taken by the terrorists. But this is sometime sword with two edges as in the case when terrorists have some of our man and they know that sooner or later Israel will compromise and give whatever they asked for. They have patience we dont because of the tremendous public pressure which has been created in this case when even huge money price was offered to anybody whose information will lead to the place where is Gilad kept hidden. And all this crap said by our Government, at the very beginning, that no prisoner with Jewish blood on his hands will be released ever is now proof that there is no clear policy, no dignity and neither principles when it comes to the Jewish life. It is not only about public pressure, it is also because we know very well how other side have been treated our previous captures. And tortures they passed from the multiple rapes, daily beating, electrification of their genitals, pulling their nails and other atrocities which are hard to describe to any humans. Therefore when there is a leader who needs to take all this into consideration Im sure that there is a breaking point where even he will band down and compromise, forgetting and regretting everything he ever said before. There is also another point here and it is failure of the army mission in the first place where someone has to take responsibility for capture of Gilad.

Because if State of Israel will not save its soldier, who went to fight for that very State of Israel risking his own life, WHO WILL? That is a question every leader and/or army officer will ask himself when it comes to the future path, as a sample they need to create for any other potential Israeli soldier in the future. Because if they failed in one case as Gilad Shalit there will be small grain of suspicion to anybody else who will go to serve IDF in the future. AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHICH MADE BRAKING POINT AND COMPROMISE NOW AFTER WHOLE 5 YRS OF CAPTURE, NEGOTIATIONS, DIPLOMACY, PRACTICAL EFFORTS etc!!! CONTRADICTORY: When Hamas got Gilad, and when negotiations started shortly after his capture, they asked for 1,000 prisoners but Israel refused. After few yrs. when they asked Israel to release female and young prisoners in exchange to

the video tape, where Israel will see Gilad for the first time and get some assurance that he is still alive and not injured, Israel agreed and those 20 female prisoners were released!!! There has not been a single change in Hamas demand from the very begging when they asked for 1,000 prisoners. But our smart assholes said then that no terrorist will be released with Jewish blood on his/her hands!!! Today they are releasing 280 of terrorists with life sentences!!! What does it mean if these terrorists will not be able to enter Israel or territories under our control but Gaza Strip only? You are releasing master minds of all murderers and their planners as well as their affiliates who will soon from Gaza Strip make their another master-minded action which will be on the large scale nobody ever cannot predict. And especially now when they graduated Academy of sophisticated Crime In our prisons!!! These people were not caught by calling them on mobile phones and picking them up in the buses to the prisons!!! They were parts of so many actions where our special forces went and risked their life to catch them. What about them? How many of them were injured during those raids on the terrorists? How many of them died? How much of our tax money were paid to informers to get all those 1,000 + bastards? And how many we had to bring with families into Israel since they were burned there after their informative careers!!!Im sure that those actions were not taken into considerations for the final release of Gilad soon!!! I truly hope that these words of my suspicions are all products of my rich architectural fantasy of factious brain and nothing ever will happen here BUT WHAT IF??? WHO WILL THEN BE ABLE TO MAKE IREVERSABLE? AS NOW ITS TIME TO SAY- ISRAEL WAKE UP BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!! 2011 Copyright by David Strossmayer Sources: IDF, Galgalatz, Wikipedia