GILAD SHALIT

There are many reasons why international recognition should not be given unilaterally to a Palestinian State next month.

One of them is the fact that one of the partners in the so-called Palestinian "Unity Government" is Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation and perpetrator of multiple crimes against humanity.

Hamas holds Gilad Shalit, who turns 25 years of age today, captive without any of the internationally accepted rights accorded to captured soldiers.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia on Gilad Shalit. May he be released as soon as is humanly possible.

"Gilad Shalit (Hebrew: גלעד שליט‎, born 28 August 1986) is an Israeli and French national and an IDF soldier who was attacked and kidnapped from Israel on 25 June 2006 by Hamas militants* in a cross-border raid. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing (in Israel), and has been held as a hostage at an unknown location in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and deprived of all International Red Cross visits since his abduction.

"Hamas has refused requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross to allow the ICRC to visit Shalit, and claims that any such visit could betray the location where Shalit is being held captive. Multiple human rights organizations have stated that the terms and conditions of Shalit's confinement are contrary to international humanitarian law. To date, the only contact between Shalit and the outside world since his capture has been three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD that Israel received in return for releasing 20 female Palestinian prisoners."

* for some reason it seems that Wikipedia deigns to describe Shalit's captors as "militants" yet the circumstances of his captivity clearly show them to be nothing other than  barbarians and terrorists. Such is the stupidity of a world that bends over backwards to appear evenhanded.