I just received an email from Jerusalem. It contained a photo of the Welcome Home flags for Gilad Shalit. It’s good to have the kidnapped soldier home again and I am happy for his family who waited a long five years for his return.

Shalit was kidnapped in Israel not Gaza while two of his fellow soldiers were killed by Hamas during the capture. He is very thin like a concentration camp survivor. He will never get over those horrid five years as a hostage.

Originally, I was one of those who was against the exchange of 1000 Palestinian criminals for Gilad. It seemed to be a disproportionate response, a heavy price to pay, and I believed that it would lead to more hostage-taking. But I have now changed my mind because it really won’t make any difference to Hamas. Hamas are determined to wreak havoc on Israel anyway whether it be through missiles or suicide bombers or hostage-taking.

I also believe that the Israelis have resigned themselves to living with the status quo after so many failed attempts to find a peaceful outcome with the Palestinians. That is why they decided to return those murderers to Gaza. What’s 1000 murderers more or less? If it’s not those 1000 wretches then there are plenty more being trained right now by their horrid instigators to commit more and more atrocities against Israelis.

While Israel welcomes home one of its own in a dignified and humane manner, there are scenes of hysterical ulutating in Gaza. The terrorists and murderers who were returned to Hamas in the ransom exchange are being hailed as heroes. One of them is a woman, Amana Muna, who chatted up a sixteen-year old Israeli boy in an internet chat room. She lured him to his death.

Some heroine!

And then there was Nasser Yataima who planned the bombing in the Park Hotel in Israel (30 victims killed).

The list goes on and it will go on, because, in my opinion, there will never be peace between Israel and the Palestinians as long as Hamas and its like are determined to destroy Israeli lives.

So let’s save our own. Our Gilad. If we don’t, who will?

Perhaps the mistake that Israel made was in taking those terrorists as prisoners. It costs a lot to house and feed and give medical treatment to prisoners. One only has to compare the emaciated Gilad with the well-nourished Hamas ex-prisoners who are now performing wild victory dances in Gaza. They look fine, don’t they? That’s because Israel treats its prisoners well. Some would say too well, especially when they held a protest not long ago because they couldn’t get cable TV.

I’m not joking. That’s what the protest was about.

It will be interesting to hear how Gilad Shalit was treated. By the look of him, cable TV was not uppermost on his mind.