End of Hope

Today the hope ended.

Today the fight ended.

Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit are finally home along with parts of other soldiers killed in the 2006 Lebanon War. It's been more than two years since they have been on Israeli soil.

Israel traded 200 Lebanese bodies and five live prisoners to Hezbollah so the remains of these Israeli fighters could be buried with dignity.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, there is jubilation. A national holiday has been declared to celebrate the return of these "resistance fighters" and the promise that Israel will not hold any more Hezbollah fighters.

I'm not here to tell you what was right, but i can tell you what I think. I think that Israel should not have given living prisoners for dead bodies. I think they should have given dead bodies for dead bodies. I think the return of live fighters sends the message to Hezbollah that we are pliable and they can kidnap more soldiers and get their own back. In short, it's bad diplomacy. I think Israel should have refused to negotiate until they knew the status of the soldiers. I feel terrible for the families, but I feel worse for our leaders. They are in a catch-22. On one hand, the only way to get prisoners back is to return live terrorists, which no one wants. On the other hand, they have been under tremendous pressure to cut a deal to have Regev and Shalit returned.

I appreciate the effort that the government has put into getting them back, I would appreciate it more if they didn't reward Hezbollah with live terrorists and murderers.

But the hope is gone. The hope we have all held for two long years that they would be alive is gone. While the bodies have returned there is no change in Israel's prisoner negotiations, and Hezbollah will now continue on their merry way, with five more men to kidnap and kill more of our soldiers.