The Hill News

After more than five years as a prisoner of Hamas, the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was freed on Tuesday. The move came after Israel transferred hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to Egypt for their eventual releases into the Gaza Strip or abroad. Shalit is “alive and well,” according to the IDF, and he has already returned to Israel, where his family greeted him at the border. Israel will release 1,027 prisoners in total in exchange for Shalit.
â€" The Daily Beast, Oct. 18, 2011

Israel’s latest dilemma resulted from the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit. Under other circumstances, no one would call the negotiated release anything but morally powerful â€" one life of an Israeli is worth whatever it takes, so important to Israeli morality is the preservation of its citizens. It is a profound moral statement. And surely I would champion the move were I the parents of soldier Shalit.

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