Government Minister Jacob Edery (Kadima) had approached Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with a proposal to halt all family visits to Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, until the Hamas government allows for a third party to see kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, as all attempts to get a sign of life from him had failed.
According to Edery, this will exert enormous pressure on the Hamas leadership, as inmate visits are extremely important to the Palestinian population. Edery also proposed not to publish the names of Hizballah terrorists captured by Israel and not allow Red Cross visits until Israel gets any sign of life from the two kidnapped soldiers held by Hizballah.
“Only a hard line towards those who hurt the sovereignty of Israel can prove that there will be no compromise on the subject of the kidnapped soldiers and will lead to the desired result,” said Edery.