March for Abducted Israeli Soldier Ends in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, July 8, 2010 -- Twelve days after they set off from their home in the far north of Israel, Noam and Aviva Shalit, the parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, have at last reached Jerusalem.

They have been marching to put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a deal with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, to release their son, whom it has held captive for four years.

On the table, though, is a very high price: release of the Israeli soldier in return for up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel's jails, some of them notorious militants responsible for planning attacks that have killed hundreds of Israelis.

Netanyahu said he is willing to release many of the prisoners but not all of them, and many of those who would be released would not be allowed back into the Palestinian territories.

Hamas said no deal.

Thousands of supporters have joined the Shalits along the route. Gilad Shalit's fate has become something of a national obsession in Israel -- abandoning a missing soldier crosses a line for Israelis, all of whom must serve in the army. Many Israelis sense 23-year-old Gilad Shalit could be their own son.

It has become a sensitive political minefield for Netanyahu, who said on television recently that he was prepared to pay a high price, but not any price, for the soldier's release.

Since Shalit was abducted, a number of audio recordings and one video have been released of him, but little is known about the conditions of his detention, as Hamas has allowed the Red Cross visit him.