"ISRAELI GI"?

MSNBC and Associated Press share the credit for this online abomination of a headline,

“CAPTORS OF ISRAELI GI ISSUE LATEST DEMANDS.”

What the heck is an “Israeli GI”? This may be the first time “GI” has been applied to anything but an American soldier. Gee, could there be a subtle message intended?

Part of the AP/MSNBC “Israeli GI” article:

‘RAMALLAH, West Bank - After months of deadlock, the captors of an Israeli soldier handed over the names of Palestinian prisoners they want freed in exchange for the hostage, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.
‘The release of Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit is seen as a precondition for any possible progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. A swap could also help the new Palestinian unity government, a coalition of the Islamic militant Hamas and the moderate Fatah movement, in its quest for international acceptance.’


Questions:

1. Why is the “Israeli GI” a “hostage” rather than a “prisoner” like all the Arabs Israel has kidnapped and held?

2. Why is the release of one Israeli soldier a precondition for “peace efforts”, rather than Israeli release of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners?