What may have been Israel’s main bargaining chip towards pressuring Hamas to release Gilad Shalit has vanished with Egypt opening the Rafiach Crossing. This represents another broken promise by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who assured the nation the Gaza ceasefire would not occur prior to Shalit’s release, and then he promised the Rafiach Crossing would remain closed until the soldiers is released.

Last week, marking their son’s 22nd birthday, Noam Shalit lamented the lack of credibility of the prime minister and his cabinet, stating it appears the government is too busy to concern itself with obtaining Gilad’s release.

Egypt opened the border crossing on Saturday, permitting 1,000 people to enter into Gaza and 2,500 crossed into Egypt. Egypt indicated the crossing would remain open for 48 hours.

In the meantime, terrorists in Gaza continue to train opening without security forces impeding their operations as they prepare for the next military conflict with Israel, which a growing number of senior IDF officers feel will be sooner rather than later.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)