Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i expressed support for freeing jailed Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti in exchange for Cpl. Gilad Schalit, in a weekend interview with Israel Radio. Barghouti was sentenced in 2004 to five life sentences for the murders of four Israelis and a Greek monk. Vilna'i said he could not look people in the eye and say "we're giving up on Gilad Schalit." Freeing prisoners with "blood on their hands," he said, was not new to Israel, as this had already been done in past deals to bring about the release of captured Israeli soldiers.
An official in the Prime Minister's Office who preferred to remain anonymous said Vilna'i's was merely expressing his personal opinion. Other senior officials said Israel was not considering releasing Barghouti.