Israeli war minister Ehud Barak has pledged on Thursday that his government would get the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit alive as calls of Israeli public for Shalit's freedom mount.

Barak was speaking before Israeli settlers mourning two Israeli soldiers surrendered by the Lebanese Hizbullah party as part of a swap deal with the Israeli occupation government on Wednesday.

"Our hearts are full of sorrow and pain; yet freeing our captives was a duty on us since the time of our forefathers, and we were ready to pay a high price to retrieve our soldiers", said Barak as he addressed the mourners. 

Captors of Shalit had tabled a number of conditions, including releasing Palestinian women and children prisoners in Israeli jails among other conditions that the Israeli occupation government should meet before they could release Shalit.

International legal and human rights groups described the demands of Shalit's captors as "humanitarian and rational"; yet, the Israeli occupation government refused to meet those conditions so far.

However, clamor of the Israeli public for the freedom of Shalit mounted in the aftermath of the swap deal with Hizbullah as Hebrew media called for the immediate swap of Shalit with Paletsinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

The Hebrew Ha'aretz news paper asserted that the mere endorsement of the Israeli [occupation] government on the swap deal with Hizbullah despite the insufficient report submitted by Hizbullah on the fate of Israeli pilot Ron Arad binds the government to immediately work for the swift release of Shalit, and not to prolong his ordeal any further.

The paper added that the Israeli public know very well the price they have to pay to get their soldiers back, and urged Israeli officials to speed up negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit.

In this regard, the paper challenged those opposing the release of Palestinian female and children captives in Israeli jails if they could guarantee that the case of Arad will not be repeated with Shalit after five or ten years in Hamas's captivity.

"Shalit shouldn’t be forced to shoulder the burden of our war on terrorism", the paper, furthermore added.

PLC urges international intervention for the release of Dwaik

The presidency of the PA legislature has warned on Thursday that health condition of kidnapped PLC speaker Dr. Aziz Dawik was badly deteriorating in Israeli jails, urging an international intervention to secure his release.

According to family of Dwaik, the PLC speaker underwent surgical operation in the prison's hospital in unhealthy conditions that could jeopardize his life.

Moreover, the legislature's presidency panel accused the Israeli occupation government of wittingly neglecting the health condition of Dwaik as it decided to confine him for two months in the prison's hospital instead of releasing him to get proper medical attention and treatment outside the prison as stipulated in international laws and conventions.

Dwaik had been in captivity for two years now; yet, no charges have been tabled against him by the Israeli prosecutor as many described the kidnapping of Dwaik and 43 of his colleagues in the parliament as "politically motivated".

The PLC also sent a call to secretary-general of the Arab League Amre Mousa, and the UN-secretary general Ban-Ki-Moon, appealing for their swift mediation for the release of Dwaik, warning that the Israeli occupation government will be held responsible if any harm that comes to the second highest PA official.

In an unrelated matter, prime minister of the PA caretaker government Ismael Haneyya telephoned and congratulated former Lebanese captive Samir Al-Kuntar, who was released from Israeli jails on Wednesday after 30 years he spent in the prison.

The PA premier also hailed the exemplary steadfastness and resoluteness of Palestinian, Lebanese, and other Arab prisoners while in Israeli jails, pledging to keep the issue of prisoners on top of his priorities.

"The PA government would spare no effort in working for the release of Palestinian and Arab prisoners from Israeli jails regardless of their political or geographical affiliations", Haneyya furthermore asserted.