Hundreds of teenagers wearing white T-shirt shouted on Tuesday afternoon outside outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office behind barriers, calling for freedom of soldier Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas-led militants in 2006.

"Let Shalit back home, back home now." The teenagers shouted while premier Olmert is holding a meeting with his cabinet members, during which two special envoys updated the cabinet on the details of their intensive talks in Cairo over the weekend with Egyptian mediators on a possible Hamas new offer for Shalit freedom.

Four hours later, demonstrators dismissed, the shouting disappeared. Only Olmert's voice from TV hovered in the mind of disappointed Israelis and echoed their dilemma.

The premier gave a special address to the nation on Tuesday evening, in which he elaborated on the failure of the negotiations aiming at securing Shalit's release.

Foreboding delay

Before Olmert spoke out the bad news, many people have predicted that time was running out for a potential prisoner swap between Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement and Israel.

The deal would see the return to Israel from Gaza of Shalit, a soldier captured by Hamas three years ago. In exchange, Israel would free hundreds of Palestinians, including many found guilty by Israeli courts of murder and other terror-related crimes.

Olmert tries to complete the deal during his last days in office, while the families of the Palestinian prisoners want to see the successful end to the negotiations before Olmert leaves office. They fear his successor, prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu will be less likely to push ahead with the deal.

Until the start of this week it looked as though a deal was imminent. Israel's chief negotiator, Ofer Dekel, made three visits to Cairo for indirect talks with Hamas.

However, on Sunday it became clear there was a spanner in the works. Dekel's return was delayed and a planned cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Monday was postponed by more than 24 hours.

On Tuesday morning, after read the Israeli newspapers reporting the seeming collapse of the talks, Yoav Balaks-Boneh, Shalit's former company commander in the Israel Defense Forces told Xinhua he was very disappointed.

"It's an awful feeling because we waited and waited, we were so optimistic and now we're back to the beginning," he said, adding he was angry with the government which is only address for recourse.

"I can't turn to Hamas, it's a terrorist organization, I can't trust it," he said. "I can only fight Hamas on the battleground."

One person's price

Holding a black and white portrait of her dead stepdaughter and staring at a policeman who was watching the demonstration, Dorit Ben-Dor sat on a stair for a long time without any word.

The sun was sinking below mountains guarding Jerusalem in west, five meters away, there was a white banner hung on the bar saying "Don't neglect Shalit" and a yellow ribbon tied to the portrait flies in the wind.

Ben-Dor's 17-year-old daughter was killed in a terror attack in 2002, she told Xinhua that the government should save Shalit back home at any price.

"A Jewish proverb says 'to save one person is to save the world'," she said, adding "my daughter has been killed, while hundreds of parents lost their children in terror attacks, but Shalit is still alive, suffering in a cave or somewhere, so in any case we must take him back, alive, to his parents, I think now Shalit is my son, I hope they will not give up."

Even though knew the bad news from Olmert's mouth, Noam Shalit,father of the captured soldier, still urged the government not to give up.

It should be Olmert's top priority to take the task of bringingShalit back. He should complete it, he told Xinhua. "If there was no other ways or all the ways were failed, that means we pay heavyprice to the terrorism and murders."

"The feelings, disappointments and hopes are not relevant. We have been dealing with these hopes, disappointments and expectations for a thousand days now. What important now is actions, and not hopes and expectations."

However, how to act is another question.

In a dilemma

The Israeli government is now facing a period of intense public pressure, both from supporters and opponents of the swap deal with Hamas.

Those like those young demonstrators on Tuesday afternoon who want to see Shalit returned and have climbed the psychological barrier of releasing Hamas members from Israeli jails, pushed the government to go even further in its negotiations.

On the other hand, those argue the government must seek alternatives to freeing the Palestinians. Among the options available are military operations, financial sanctions, moves against the Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons.

"We have soldiers and special service men, why can we only depend on negotiations," Ben-Dor said.

Asked if she ever thought the military operation could lead to more tragedies for Israeli families, she answered at once "we are in the war now, whatever you do, whatever you release those prisoners or not, there will be a bomb in bus, in bar, in supermarket."

"We think that the price we have paid and all the other people that suffered from the terror attacks till now is too much," she stressed.

While the Israeli government struggled in a dilemma, many Israelis' mind fell into a dilemma as well, especially those who have suffered at the hands of Hamas like Ben-Dor.

Yossi Mendelevich, who lost his 13-year-old son in a terror attack in 2003, said that the last thing he wants to do after he knew the deal was off was not to gloat but rather offer his heartfelt sympathy to the Shalit family.

"We really hope the government has regained its senses because of this and realizes the releasing of terrorists is like a strategic terror attack or an atom bomb," Mendelevich said.

"It challenges the very existence and peace of the country's citizens." In a protest tent against the Shalit deal near the Prime Minister's Residence, he spoke with Xinhua by cell phone.