Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that demonstrations like the one held this morning, calling for the release of captured soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, may encourage the terrorists holding him to raise the price for his release. "Some thought should be devoted to the demonstrations because we should think and find a way not to send the other side signals that might cause the price to rise instead of going down," he said.

He noted, however, that he understands the "civilian need" to act for Shalit's return. "I understand the people," he said. "As Defense Minister, as a [former] Chief of Staff and as a person who commanded soldiers for decades I feel full well the duty to bring Gilad home safely."

Barak spoke on Army Radio.

Ayalon takes on Barak

Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, rejected Barak's criticism. "The government had enough time without public protests to bring about the release of my son," he told the military radio station in response to Barak's interview.

Minister Without Portfolio Ami Ayalon (Labor) participated in the event for Shalit at Kerem Shalom and defended the rationale behind it. 

"This rally is not only legitimate, it is a model of healthy democracy," he said Sunday. "Barak said that the rally could raise the price of the captives, but by the same token it could lower Hamas's demands," he said. "Barak's position expresses a simplistic view of the democratic discourse that needs to take place between elected officials and the public that elected them," he said. "A strong democracy is one in which the public tells decision-makers what it thinks."

Ayalon added: "We sent Shalit into battle and we must bring him back home. Our commitment – that of the Israeli government, the IDF and Israeli society – is not to abandon Gilad and to fight for his release. Every passing day without his return is not just a lost day: time is not on our side."

Noam Shalit: Leave Now Olmert, It's After the Holidays

At the protest, Gilad's father Noam Shalit called on PM Ehud Olmert to make good on the promise he made "to step down after the holidays,' and step down. Although there are two days left of holiday, Shalit said that as far as Olmert's pledge, "we are [effectively] after the holidays."

The senior Shalit also called on Olmert to "leave the table clean behind him" in terms of acting to free Shalit.