"Our heart is with Gilad Shalit," said Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, "but on the other hand, we are decision makers who must take national security matters into consideration. The release of hundreds of terrorists with blood on their hands [i.e., murderers] into Judea and Samaria would have grave ramifications on Israel's ability to fight terrorism."
"This is one of the tragic dilemmas faced by those making the decisions," Steinitz said over the weekend. "On the one hand, there is the heart - and we are all of one heart praying to see Gilad home with us. But the other side is that decisions have to be made not only from the heart, but also from the head."
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon also related to the matter, in a special "Sabbath of culture" in Rishon LeTzion. "We must do everything to return Gilad Shalit home," he said, "but withour hurting Israel's security interests... The number of terrorists that we release is less important than the level of their potential to return to terrorism."
Gilad's family - parents Noam and Aviva, and Gilad's brother - are planning to set of on Sunday on a march from their hometown of Mitzpeh Hila, in the northwestern Galilee, to Jerusalem. When they arrive in the capital some two weeks later, if all goes according to plan, they intend to sit outside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's home. They say they will not give up until Gilad returns.
Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas-affiliated terrorists from Gaza exactly four years ago this week. Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross or any other neutral observers to visit him, and have released only one videotape of him throughout his period of captivity.