Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted in this 90-second statement to welcome news that I have just heard, that Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who has been incarcerated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2006 is to be released within days. This has been an horrific period for the Shalit family and for the state of Israel. I think it is a shame that in order to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, about whom I have commented before in this place, the Israeli government needed to negotiate with an organisation like Hamas and to release up to 1,000 convicted terrorists and criminals from their jails.

But I do fully understand and accept the importance of the decision that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government have made. I think it is a very welcome development for Gilad Shalit's family: Aviv and Noam, his brother Yoel, sister Hadas and grandfather's Zvi and for the entire Israeli population. I look forward to watching the coverage of his release, which will be sooner rather than later. I hope that Hamas learns that the path of terror is an infamous path and that instead they should pursue a path of peace.

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