Call in the Red Cross. Or start shouting about the violations of international law: Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas, has admitted that Cpl. Gilad Shalit is a POW.

Mashaal told a press conference in Damascus that Shalit, captured by terrorists linked to his group is a “prisoner of war and international conventions and laws should be applied to his case.”

“Our goals and our morals command us to keep the soldier alive,” he stressed.

Actually, although I don’t believe Hamas comes with morals, with that public admission come all the responsibilities of treating him like a POW. That means moving him to a proper prison for POWs, allowing the Red Cross to examine and question him, giving him certain treatments in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

I will not, of course, hold my breath waiting for the ICRC and Human Rights Watch to insist on visiting the prisoner and making sure he is not being harmed.