Jerusalem ? The father of a captured Israeli soldier confronted one of his son’s captors in a dramatic joint radio appearance Wednesday – pleading with the Hamas-linked militants to release his boy and take him instead.

The militant rejected the plea from Noam Shalit, saying the soldier will be freed only when Israel releases large numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 20, was captured in a June 25 raid by militants who tunneled under the Gaza-Israel border and attacked an Israeli army post, killing two soldiers and taking Shalit with them.

Negotiations through Egyptian mediators have failed to win his freedom, with the two sides blaming each other for the breakdown.

Frustrated by the six-month stalemate, the elder Shalit said that if his son’s captors sought assurances, he was willing to offer himself up as collateral until a final deal could be secured.

“I, myself, am prepared to be guarantor for this and, if needed, I am prepared to travel to the Gaza Strip, and to stay with Hamas’ security forces until all of their demands are answered,” said Shalit, 52.

After the radio appearance, Shalit told The Associated Press, “If I could switch places with him, I would gladly do so.”

Shalit faced off against Abu Mujahid, the representative of the kidnappers, on “Radio All For Peace,” an independent station run by both Jews and Arabs in Israel.

Abu Mujahid told Shalit that he’d be welcome in Gaza only as an official negotiator. He assured Shalit that his son was well and was not being tortured.

The broadcast exchange came a day after Abu Mujahid gave the first official account on Shalit’s condition. The militant said Shalit was in good health and was being treated “according to Islamic standards.”

Abu Mujahid did not elaborate on the standards, and did not furnish proof the soldier was in good health. Israeli officials did not react to the report.