1,000 days and counting

Today is the 1,001st day of captivity for Gilad Shalit. His family closed down its protest test just before Shabbat and returned home in the Galil.

Supposedly, the government has spent the last (nearly) three years actively seeking the return of Gilad as well as the two soldiers captured by Hezbollah (Udi Regev z"l and Eldad Goldwasser z"l). Now that the government of Ehud Olmert is actually in its final days--Benjamin Netanyahu just received a 14 day extension to form his coalition government--he's placed the negotiations into overdrive. For the last few weeks the discussions with Hamas under Egyptian auspices have been active. It's all in an effort to resolve the issue before Olmert leaves the stage.

Why it's taken so long to actively work for his release suggests that Israel had it on a very low burner--if not totally off the stove. Now that Olmert's time is drawing to a close, his [Olmert] concern for his legacy has pushed him to actually get the ball rolling.

Yet, success remains elusive. Despite media reports since the last election that an agreement is imminent, nothing has happened.

In the meantime, it seems that Hamas has been upping its demands of who it wants released and refusing to accept Israel's demands that some released prisoners be sent into exile (not permitted to live in either Gaza or the West Bank). Israel has stood firm regarding the list of releasees and conditions of release.

In the background unity talks between Fatah (W Bank) and Hamas (Gaza) are continuing (in some form).

When I visited the protest tent last week, across the street was a counter protest against releasing prisoners "with blood on their hands" (i.e. convicted of murder/terrorism). While I certainly understand their position--the last prisoner exchange gave Israel two bodies for a large number of Palestinian/Lebanese terrorists, including the someone who murdered a child on the Nehariya beach--and their concern that once released they'll immediately return to their terrorist activities (against Israel).

I'm not sure that Israel has much choice in the matter. They need to release convicted terrorist murderers to get Gilad Shalit back. Israel must do everyone to return its captured (and dead) soldiers. I only hope that Shalit is still alive. If not, the price is too steep for a coffin.

Stay tuned...please god Gilad will be home for Pesach.