The Security Cabinet finally issued a unanimous statement about the truce terms. Hamas is not going to release the corporal in return for merely opening the crossings, but wants 1,400 terrorists released as well.
The Cabinet does not seek a pretext to reject the truce. On the contrary, IAF conducts merely theatrical strikes against empty shacks in Gaza.
Rather, the Cabinet seeks to turn the 1,400:1 prisoner exchange from an Israeli defeat into a victory, as Hamas would be “forced” to release Shalit as the only way to achieve a truce. Never mind that it is the victorious Israel that sues for a truce, and Egypt is heavy-handedly forcing the “defeated” Hamas to the negotiation table.
As usual, a pro-Shalit demonstration took place in front of the government office. Demonstrators demanded their idol be released at whatever cost to society. Someone pays a lot for all those demonstrations. Shalit’s father’s meeting with foreign heads of state could only be organized on the highest political level. The establishment has inflated the minor issue of a corporal POW into a national tragedy that would justify any concessions sought by the Left.
