About three months ago, Gilad Shalit was promoted to the rank of first-sergeant and in three weeks, his three-year compulsory army service will come to an end and he will begin career army service. Ironically, he and his family will begin receiving a salary and benefits commensurate with a career soldier of his rank.

To the dismay of his family, his return home does not appear imminent, with a senior Hamas official in Gaza announcing on Thursday that the terror organization will keep him prisoner for 20 years if need be, until Israel agrees to release the prisoners as per Hamas demands.

Gilad was inducted into the IDF on 31 July 2005, and on 22 July, his induction class will complete their mandatory military service. Those who are not continuing on in the career army on Thursday began their pre-discharge vacation.

There is growing criticism against the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet for agreeing to the Gaza ceasefire without stipulating Shalit’s release is a prerequisite to such a move. Senior officials involved in the negotiations insisted that the ceasefire will facilitate the release of the soldier, but it is now obvious to all that the current situation is far worse than the conditions which existed prior to the ceasefire that began less than three weeks ago.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)