Let's negotiate an end to crisis, says Gilad's father
The father of Gilad Shalit has told the extraordinary story of how he was actually sitting in Ehud Olmert's office when news came through that two other Israeli soldiers had been kidnapped.
“It was like an, I don’t know the English word, hazui (hallucination),” Mr Schalit told The Times. “His military assistant came in with a note and briefed him and then began all the telephone calls and so on. He didn’t leave, he didn’t stop the meeting with us. We sat with him for about an hour while the Japanese Prime Minister waited outside.
“It was a very hard feeling because at that moment I realised that all the cards had been reshuffled and things wouldn’t be as they were before. We were now in another severe crisis and we knew it would complicate our case, not simplify it.”
He has also called for Israel to enter into negotiations with the Palestinian group holding his son and says that, if Israel were not in a virtual state of war, he would be calling much louder for steps to be taken to free his son.
To hard-liners who call for an end to Israel’s tradition of trading prisoners, he added pointedly: “It is a very solid and well-known code in Israel, and the Israel Defence Forces in particular, that they don’t abandon combat soldiers in the field. I believe it is still valid.”
He added: “My message to the Hamas people is first of all let’s stop this crisis immediately. What good will come out of it? Beyond the suffering of the families there are thousands of Palestinians suffering, being killed by day and by night, they are without electricity and water.
“They would do better around the negotiating table and not with terror actions and Qassam rockets.”
He is totally correct. The Israelis have a long history of trading prisoners for captured soldiers and Olmert was foolish to take the stance that he has taken. He was always heading into a cul de sac.
However, even now, there are signs that the Israeli position is changing. Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said that Israel may have to consider the possibility of negotiating over Lebanese prisoners to end the current crisis sparked by Hezbollah's abduction of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers last week.
There was no indication whether the former head of the Shin Bet security service was speaking on behalf of the government or giving his personal opinion, but the very fact that he is stating this publicly indicates a softening of the Israeli hard-line.
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