Netanyahu justifies Shalit deal

The vast majority of Israelis approve of the exchange but there are some who oppose it and there was even a last minute attempt to block it through the courts.

Speaking at the Tel Nof airbase, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified his decision.

“I found myself faced with the necessity of bringing home someone who was sent into the battlefield by the state of Israel,” he said.

“As a soldier and an army officer, I was sent by the IDF to carry out dangerous missions but I always knew that if I, or any of my friends fell into enemy hands, the state of Israel would do everything in its power to bring us home.”

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