Member of Knesset Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) spoke out Monday against an apparent release of hundreds of Arab security prisoners for abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. At a news conference called by the party, Dr. Ben-Ari said, "When a terrorist is released to his home, it's terribly persuasive, because a terrorist knows that a comrade will kidnap a soldier for him and he'll be released in the course of time, which is why we saw that every intifada was worse than the previous one."

He continued, "The Israel Defense Forces can be strong when there's a government behind them to back them up and creates a deterrent. If not, then the most daring military operations won't help a bit."