The young man on the left is 19-year old Gilad Shalit.
He is an IDF soldier.
Today, Hamas terrorists abducted him after firing an anti-tank missile at the tank in which he was located. At an IDF post in Gaza. You know, the place from which the IDF unilaterally withdrew so the palestinians could “nation build.” (I guess in pali-speak, “nation” means “Kassam rocket”).
In any event, as I post this, Gilad is still missing. Which makes him a POW since this really is a war, despite our government’s reluctance to recognize this and act accordingly. And which makes him in need of our prayers.
So please pray for him (his Hebrew name is Gilad ben Aviva).
While there is slim hope for Gilad, the same can unfortunately not be said about two of his comrades – Hanan Barak (21) and Pavel Slocker (21) – who were killed in the same terrorist operation. Please read about them here, and pray for their families and loved ones.
Update: Olmert is now talking tough:
The cabinet ministers authorized Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz to determine when a military operation would be launched. The cabinet also agreed to continue employing diplomatic efforts and seeking international pressure to convince Palestinian militants to free the abducted soldier, 19-year-old Gilad Shalit from Mitzpe Hila, near Carmiel.
During the cabinet meeting, ministers Shimon Peres, Eli Yishai and Meir Sheetrit urged the IDF to responds with restraint to the attack. However, Olmert responded, “The age of restraint has come to an end… We will respond forcefully, with an operation that will last more than a day or two.”
I would have thought the age of restraint had ended a long time ago, but whatever… Sounds like a plan, and I would like to think that the palestinian terror groups are terrified that we are now going to rip them a new a**hole. Like in days of old. However, our policy of concessions, withdrawal, and lack of response to terrorism has resulted in the perception that we are weak and vulnerable. The terrorists are not afraid of us. Instead of running, they are running off at the mouth.
In an apparent response to Israeli threats to enter Gaza, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades group announced on Sunday that it its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons to be used against Israel.
