Since an agreement for the release of Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of Hamas prisoners could not be reached, I propose to initiate negotiations (perhaps with Egyptian help) on the improvement of Gilad Shalit’s captivity conditions.
In return for letting Shalit have frequent visits of the red cross, letter exchange and perhaps also visits by his family, Israel can offer the release of many dozens of prisoners, such as Hamas Parliament members, and other prisoners not directly involved in violent activities.
מאחר שלא ניתן היה להגיע להסכמה על שחרור גלעד שליט תמורת שחרור אסירים, יש לנסות לפתוח משא ומתן (למשל באמצעות המצרים) רק על שיפור תנאי השבי של גלעד שליט ואפילו להיות מוכנים לשחרר אסירים כמו עשרות חברי הפרלמנט של חמאס שנעצרו תמורת שיפור תנאי השבי בלבד -מכתבים, ביקורי צלב אדום, ואם ניתן ביקורים של המשפחה
Gilad Shalit
Combinatorics and more 
Excellent idea. The politicians from both sides will probably shoot it down for some reason or another. Here are a few sample reasons that I think the Israeli side would give:
1. Because “Israel will not make deals with Hamas before Hamas frees Gilad Shalit”. (just like the same principle with the PLO in the 70s-80s. How stupid).
2. Because “Hamas cannot be trusted” (and the Israeli government can?)
3. Because “it would seem like we agree for Gilad Shalit to stay captive”. (Well, that’s the only deal that can be made)
4. Because “Gilad Shalit should be getting al of these rights anyway according to the Geneva conventions” (and land should not be occupied and civilians should not be killed for revenge sake, like was done in Gaza; and Hamas didn’t sign the conventions, anyway).
By the way, if anyone wants to really know why Israel is stealing land from the Palestinians (which IMHO is a big part of what’s causing all of this mess to begin with), the answer is nationalism and capitalism. Capitalism, because some of these lands are stolen in order to benefit Israel’s rich. Recommended reading: Gadi Algazi’s brilliant article “Matrix In Bil’in” (also called “Offshore Zionism”)
Dear free the masses,
Thank you. My proposal was meant to deal with a very smal (but of humanitarian value) fragment of the large issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And, given the recent developements regarding Gilad Shalit, I believe it can make sense for people with sharply different views on the conflict as a whole, and, in fact, to people from both sides of it.
Since it is immoral to negotiate with terrorists, and since such negotiations give them the legitimacy they desperately need, I would humbly suggest another path: equate the terms of Hamas prisoners in Israel to those of Shalit.
BTW, pluralism has its own limits. The comment by “free the masses” is an insult to human intellect, and clearly was meant to provoke. I do not think this particular blog should become a platform for (auto-?)antisemitic freaks to express themselves.
I agree with Nivra.
Although the first comment has some obvious comedic benefits, it might not be interpreted as such by most readers, and so comments of this kind should better not pollute this blog.
Dear Nivra and Free from propaganda,
Thank you for you comments. As I said, my proposal is meant to deal with this specific issue, taking into account the Israeli current policy of trying to negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit, and the fact that an agreement could not be reached.
Hi all,
Now I see that it made sense not to post this comment under my real name. Who needs the fuss? (I do appreciate that Gil does have the guts to discuss sensitive political issues on the internet, under his name).
A few points:
[GK: These points were edited out. ]
7. שלום
Dear free the masses,
like many Israelies you have far-reaching ideas regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. However, my post is about a rather small aspect of the conflict, and some of the points you made are well well beyond this limmited scope and do not belong here.
Fair enough. Sadly, my words in the first comment somehow seem to lack context. I’ll try again, but won’t be offended if you delete this message if you judge it offtopic or otherwise inappropriate.
The important point (IMHO) I wanted to make is that I believe many Israelis cannot appreciate all sides of the situation, since they’re getting all their news from one of the sides, which I believe does not give them complete information. For example, many people that are held in Israeli jails are not terrorists but various political activists or simple people without any terrorist agenda (e.g. a female kindergarden teacher, see linked document), and have never been part of real terrorist activities. It would, I think, benefit Israel to release these people, certainly if it means Gilad Shalit’s captivity conditions can be improved.
For their proud persistence in Shalit’s case, Olmert and his government deserve a bronze medal (“medaliat arad”). 🙂
(Don’t worry, I am not going to write here often. 🙂 )