JERUSALEM (EJP)---"We will continue to fight terror and every released terrorist who returns to terror will be held accountable," said Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech at the Tel Nof airbase after greeting Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier released after more than five years of captivity in the hands of Hamas.

Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, some 300 of whom were serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.

Netanyahu said he understood the pain of Israeli families who have lost relatives in Palestinian terror attacks but added that Israel's ethos of doing everything possible to bring its soldiers home safely forced him to act..

Among the prisoners are Abdel Aziz Salha, who helped kill two Israeli soldiers who made a wrong turn on the West Bank and were stabbed to death, Nasser Yateima, who planned a 2002 hotel bombing that killed 30 people celebrating Passover in  Netanya and Awana Jawad Mona, who seduced a 16-year-old Israeli boy over the Internet to come meet her. That boy, Ofir Rahum, was shot and killed when he arrived.

"It is difficult to see the miscreants who murdered their loved ones being released before serving out their full sentences.  But I also knew that in the current diplomatic circumstances, this was the best agreement we could achieve, and there was no guarantee that the conditions which enabled it to be achieved would hold in the future.  It could be that Gilad would disappear, to my regret, such things have already happened."

He said he "did not want his fate to be that of missing Ron Arad, who was taken captive 25 years ago and has not returned home since.

"I remembered the noble Batya Arad. I remembered her concern for her son Ron, right up until her passing.  At such moments, a leader finds himself alone and must make a decision.  I considered – and I decided.  Government ministers supported me by a large majority.

"On this day, we are all united in both joy and pain," he declared.

"Today, now Gilad has returned home, to his family, his people and his country.  This is a very moving moment," said Netanyahu.

"A short time ago, I embraced him as he came off the helicopter and escorted him to his parents, Aviva and Noam, and I said, 'I have brought your son back home.'  But this is also a hard day; even if the price had been smaller, it would still have been heavy."

Shalit was reunited with his family for the first since being released from Hamas captivity at the Tel Nof base, where he was also greeted by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Meeting Shalit after the Israeli soldier arrived at the base, Netanyahu said: "Hello, Gilad. Welcome back to Israel. It's so good to have you home."