Olmert agrees to free 250 Palestinian prisoners

Gone and somewhat forgotten is Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped two years ago and apparently still alive
Nov. 17, 2008

No sooner did a false cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza come crashing to an end when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised to free 250 Palestinian prisoners next month as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, Israel has separated the whole concept of Palestinians from Hamas and Gaza so the two are supposedly separate in Olmert’s mind, presumably. But as more Palestinian prisoners go free out of good will, Gilad Shalit rots at the hands of terrorist, a soldier in his 20s whose life is probably worth thousands of live Palestinian prisoners, at least estimating by the last tragic prisoner exchange (terrorists for two dead bodies: the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were turned over to Israel on July 16, 2008 by Hizballah).

Despite the fact that Olmert will be leaving office under a cloud of scandal after the upcoming elections and is essentially a lame duck, how he has managed to agree to another prisoner release is astounding. At least one Knesset member noted as much.

"Olmert is not relevant to the political process, and he does not [have the authority] to make promises in Israel's name," said Reuben Rivlin. "We're tired of him and his political mischief."

I betcha so are Shalit’s parents.

One bit of hope is that despite the government’s short-term memory that one of their young men is probably psychologically ruined for life even if he does live through this ordeal, many citizens do remember. Every day protestors are camped outside the prime minister’s house with Shalit posters reminding passersby and the government that one of theirs is in enemy’s hands.