No Ceasefire Should Exist Without Gilad Shalit's Safety

In 2006, just as Hezbollah hopped over the border and kidnapped a pair of Israeli soldiers, Hamas mirrored the act in the south, swiping Gilad Shalit, threatening to turn the Israel-Lebanon War into a full blown regional conflict. As international pressure mounted and Israel was unable to secure any of its objectives in the north, the situation came to a head with the Jewish State's withdrawal.

Although the two soldiers captured by Hezbollah in Lebanon later died, Hamas insists that Gilad Shalit survives to this day, although terrorist leader Khaled Meshaal has stated that his life is worth less than that of a cat in the midst of the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

This ushers a poignant question that perhaps the Shalit family deserves an answer to: as the world calls for an immediate cease fire regardless of the conditions on the ground, why have there been no preconditions set by Israel upon the return of their kidnapped citizen?

The world has watched tensely as the showdown has dragged on - Hamas rockets slam into civilian neighborhoods as Israeli missiles strike back in crowded areas, most of which have been used by militants as mortar launching platforms. Secretary General of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon has reiterated time and again that a cease fire is a "must", while Egypt and other nearby nations bandy with foreign powers in a desperate attempt to end the fighting.

But still so far, none of these forces at work have done anything to end the suffering of an innocent citizen held for two and a half years against his will in what has been described as a war crime, all the while being denied access to the International Red Cross to verify the Hamas claims that he is in good health, or in their latest report, that he "may or may not be wounded".

There has been some outcry about the Israeli soldier's condition - he has become, thanks to the efforts of Parisian mayor Bertrand Delanoe, an "honorary citizen of Paris", while Rome's own mayor has approved the idea in his city as a sign of "solidarity with the Jewish community".

Unfortunately for Gilad, this oath of solidarity extends only to offering honorable citizenship status to nations he has no freedom to visit, as he continues to languish in bondage in Hamas captivity.

Although Israel has demanded only that rockets cease landing on Israeli cities as a pre-condition for their ceasefire, serious thought should be considered to demanding the release of the captive.

Meanwhile, Hamas and their network of similar terrorist organizations have continued to promise throughout the years that they will keep Shilat for "years" if necessary. This raises the question of how Gilad himself must be feeling, after having spent as long as he has in confinement, knowing that his own comrades are literally at his door, fighting his very captors.

But why has there been no mention of him by the Israeli government?

On the other end of the spectrum, Hamas, always valuing a prisoner of theirs in such a regard that opposing prisoners must be of particularly small clout to warrant such lopsided trades as they demand, have continually increased the conditions they have set for Gilad's release. Initially it was all female prisoners and prisoners under 18, which manifested itself into 1,000 more prisoners. This later then evolved into a demand that Israel lift its blockade of Gaza, although when this latest attempt failed so came the Qassam rockets that instigated this latest conflict.

Not surprisingly, with the international community shamefully silent on these incidents, later attempts were made by Fatah's splinter militant groups to kidnap more Israeli soldiers for the purpose of barter. Unlike in the case of Gilad and his companions who were taken by Hezbollah, the soldiers were able to defend themselves and ward off the attack.

By now the remains of the soldiers taken by Hezbollah, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, have since returned to their homeland, one can only hope that Gilad does not have to wait for the same fate, as the world worries itself only with an unconditional ceasefire amidst the aggressive Israeli campaign against the terror group.