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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

WILL IT BE A MERRY CHRISTMAS OR EVEN A HAPPY 'NEW YEAR' FOR GILAD SHALIT?

CHANUKAH HAS COME AND GONE AND GILAD SHALIT IS STILL A PRISONER.

Yet, if the time of year is any indication of forces at work to free Gilad Shalit, then it could very well be a 'Merry Christmas' for this Israeli Soldier, who has been in Hamas captivity for three years. If he is freed by this weekend, then it will be a 'Merry Christmas'; if he is freed the next weekend, then it will be a 'Happy New Year'.

Remember, Gilad Shalit has both Israeli and French citizenship. It is the French and the Germans, who have been the go-betweens, negotiating for a deal with Hamas. It is a symbolic time of year for Europe, which is still essentially of Christian culture. While the deal is yet to be made (Hamas blames Israel and Israel blames Hamas), there is a strong appearance that a deal is essentially made. Let us hope so.

Although the idea of surrendering a thousand terrorist prisoners to Hamas is indeed repugnant, there are many factors that go into such a calculation. Perhaps one of these factors is the number of dead terrorists resulting from Israel's recent incursion into Gaza. This may serve as a rationale to justify such a thousand-to-one exchange rate for Gilad Shalit's freedom.

Let us hope and pray that the Israeli Government is not moving forward stupidly to make this deal. Let us hope and pray that Gilad Shalit comes home safe and sound and in one piece to his home, his family, his nation Israel. Amen.