Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcoming Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit at Tel Nof after his release from Hamas captivity.

The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (Hebrew: עסקת שליט‎‎; Arabic: صفقة شاليط‎‎) followed a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 prisoners – mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis, although there was also a Ukrainian,[1] a Jordanian[2] and a Syrian.[3] Two hundred and eighty of these were sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Israeli targets.[4][5] Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Hayat as confirming that the prisoners released as part of the deal were collectively responsible for the killing of 569 Israelis.[6][7] The agreement came five years and four months after Palestinian militants captured Shalit in southern Israel along the Gaza Strip border.

The deal, brokered by Mossad official David Meidan through a secret back channel run by Dr. Gershon Baskin and Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Ghazi Hamad authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on one side and Ahmad Jaabri, head of Ezzedin el Qassam forces in Hamas on the other side.[8] The list of prisoners to be released was based on previous work conducted by German and Egyptian mediators and coordinated by Bundesnachrichtendienst agent Gerhard Conrad,[9] was signed in Egypt on 11 October 2011. Its first phase was executed on 18 October 2011, with Israel releasing 477 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas transferring Shalit to Cairo.[10] In the second phase, which took place during December 2011, another 550 prisoners were released.[11] At Shalit's release Hamas had several militants with suicide belts in case the Israelis attempted to renege on the deal at the last minute.[12]

The agreement is the largest prisoner exchange agreement Israel has ever made and the highest price Israel has ever paid for a single soldier.[13][14] Gilad Shalit was also the first captured Israeli soldier to be released alive in 26 years.[15]

Background

2006 Hamas cross-border raid

On Sunday morning, 25 June 2006, at about 5:30 am (GMT+2) an armed squad of Palestinians militants from the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Israel via a 300-metre-long underground tunnel they dug near the Kerem Shalom border crossing.[16] After crossing the border via the tunnel, the militants, backed by mortar and anti-tank fire from within the Gaza Strip, split into three groups to attack a watch tower, an empty armored personnel carrier, and a Merkava Mark III tank. The militants managed to blow open the tank's rear doors with a rocket-propelled grenade fired from point-blank range and afterwards tossed hand grenades inside the tank. Two crew members were killed by the grenades, another team member was seriously wounded, while the fourth team member, Corporal Gilad Shalit, was taken from the tank at gunpoint.[17][18] Immediately afterwards the Palestinian militant squad made their way back into the Gaza Strip with Shalit through the tunnel after they blew an opening in the security fence; thus Shalit became the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since the kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman in 1994.[19]

Meanwhile, large Israeli military forces arrived at the site and began helping the wounded. When they reached the tank the military forces discovered the two bodies. When it became clear that there is only one wounded person in the tank and that the fourth crew member was missing, an abduction alert was declared and various Israeli troops entered Gaza.

Shalit's captors held him in a secret location in the Gaza Strip for a total of 1,934 days leading up to the prisoner swap deal.[20] While in captivity, Hamas refused to allow the International Red Cross access to Shalit, and the only indications that he was still alive were an audio tape, a video recording, and three letters.[21][22]

Rescue attempt

Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on 28 June 2006 to search for Shalit. According to an Israeli embassy spokesman, "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the abducted Israeli… This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit."[23] On the same day, four Israeli Air Force aircraft flew over Syrian President Bashar Assad's palace in Latakia, as an IDF spokesperson said that Israel views the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of Hamas.[24] The operation did not succeed in finding Shalit.

Negotiations for release

Unofficial talks between Israel and Hamas began on 1 July 2006, six days after the abduction of Schalit by Gershon Baskin, an Israeli peace activist, co-director of the Israeli-Palestinian think tank IPCRI - the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information. On that day, Baskin arranged a telephone conversation between Hamas Government spokesman Dr. Ghazi Hamad and Noam Schalit, the father of the soldier. Baskin made contact with Prime Minister Olmert and informed him of this contact with Hamas. On 9 September 2006 Baskin arranged for a hand written letter from Schalit to be delivered to the Representative Office of Egypt in Gaza, the first sign of life from Schalit and the proof of an actual channel of communication had been established. But later that day, Olmert's representative, Ofer Deckel told Baskin that he had to step down from his efforts because the Egyptian intelligence was taking over. Deckel had been appointed by Olmert 50 days after Schalit's abduction. In the end of December 2006 the Egyptians presented the agreed formula for a prisoner exchange in which Israel would release 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Schalit in two phases. This was the same agreement reached five years later. After Olmert resigned from office on corruption charges and following elections in Israel which brought Netanyahu to power, Deckel was replaced by former Mossad agent Hagai Haddas who worked primarily though the good offices of a German Intelligence Officer, Gerhard Conrad. Hadas resigned in failure in April 2011 and was replaced by Mossad Officer David Meidan. Meidan took over on 18 April 2011, he was contacted by Gershon Baskin the very same day. The secret back channel run by Baskin and Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad was authorized by Netanyahu in May 2011. Netanyahu responded to a pilgrimage march, called by Shalit's father for his release, by saying he was willing to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit, but that top Hamas leaders would not be among those released.[25] Shalit's father had previously blamed the US for blocking talks on his son's release.[26] The Baskin - Hamad secret back channel produced a document of principles for the release on 14 July 2011 which was authorized by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ahmad Jabri. In August 2011 Egyptian-moderated negotiations on determining the list of names of the prisoners to be released began with Hamas represented by Ahmed Jabari and three other Hamas officials and Israel represented by David Meidan and two other Israeli official. Haaretz reported that Israel proposed a prisoner swap, and threatened that if Hamas rejected the proposal, no swap would occur. Hamas responded by warning that an end to negotiations would lead to Shalit's "disappearance." Negotiations were hung up over disagreements between the two parties regarding Israel's unwillingness to release all of the so-called "senior prisoners" into the West Bank—a demand Hamas rejects—and regarding the particulars of releasing prisoners who were leaders of Hamas and other organizations.[27]

The approval of the agreement

On 11 October 2011, the pan-Arab Al Arabiya network reported that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on Gilad Shalit. Netanyahu convened a special Cabinet meeting to approve the Shalit deal. The deal was brokered by German and Egyptian mediators and signed in Cairo.[28] It stipulated the release of Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Israeli-held security prisoners, 280 of these served life sentences for planning and perpetrating various terror attacks against Israeli targets.[4][5] The military Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Hayat as confirming that the prisoners released as part of the deal were collectively responsible for 569 deaths of Israeli civilians.[6][7] Gerald Steinberg, political science professor at Bar Ilan University and president of NGO Monitor, said that the goal of Israel allowing the Egyptians to take an active part was "to help stabilize [Cairo], so they play a constructive role in the region. It's to show to other countries" as well, that Egypt is a "counterweight" to Turkey, with Israel showing preference to Egypt.[29]

Shortly after Benjamin Netanyahu announced that an agreement had been reached, the Israeli Cabinet convened in an emergency session to vote on the deal. Twenty-six ministers voted in favor of the deal while three voted against it – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon, and Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau.[30] Ya'alon (Likud) argued that the prisoners would "go back to terrorism" and that they would destabilize the security situation in the West Bank.[31] Landau (Yisrael Beiteinu) warned that the deal would be "a huge victory for terror" and that it would encourage more abductions of Israelis.[32]

On 15 October the Israeli Justice Ministry published the list of the 477 prisoners that Israel intends to release as part of the first phase of the agreement.

Controversy among the Israeli public

Shalit's mother and brother at IPO solidarity concert

During the time period in which Shalit was in captivity the Shalit issue became a highly debated and controversial matter within the Israeli public. Following the calls from terror victims widows in 2009 to release the killers of their loved ones in exchange for Shalit, Ze'ev Rapp, the father of the late Helena Rapp, publicly expressed his strong objection:[33]

"Those who support this move don't understand the grief they're causing us. The memory of our loved ones cries out from beneath the earth for revenge. Blood is pouring from our heart and soul; stop bringing up these “bleeding hearts” ideas. [...] Stop drinking our blood!"[34]

Through his years in captivity the Israeli media extensively covered the issue, and significantly focused on the proponents of making painful compromise for Shalit's release - rallies for his release were extensively covered and his father was often in the Israeli media performances. On the other hand, Israeli opponents of such, who got a significantly less media exposure, warned that releasing top Palestinian militants could result in the deaths of many Israelis in renewed attacks, as well as increased Palestinian motivation to kidnap more soldiers in the future.

The Israeli press also extensively debated this issue. Israeli analyst Dan Schueftan has called the possible swap deal "the greatest significant victory for terrorism that Israel has made possible since its establishment".[35] Daniel Bar-Tal, a professor of political psychology at Tel Aviv University, said

"Here we see the basic dilemmas between the individual and the collective, and we see victim pitted against victim. Gilad Shalit is a victim who was violently kidnapped, in a way that Israelis do not consider to be a normative means of struggle. Therefore, one side says, he should be returned at any price. But the families of those killed in terrorist attacks and the people who were wounded in those attacks are victims, too, and they say that no price should be paid to the murderers. And it is truly a dilemma, because no side is right, and no side is wrong."[36]

Others believe that the disagreement among Israelis represents rifts and changes within Israeli society. Attorney Dalia Gavriely-Nur, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, says that the camp opposing the prisoners deal is holding onto a view of society, in which the individual was expected to sacrifice himself for the good of society; the camp supporting the prisoner release is expressing a shift to a more privatized society.[36]

The debate over this issue was also reflected amongst others in the Israeli cabinet meeting in which the agreement was approved, after being supported by 26 ministers and opposed by three ministers - Avigdor Lieberman, Moshe Ya'alon, and Uzi Landau who said "... this deal is a triumph for terror and [is] detrimental to Israel's security and deterrence".[37]

Implementation of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange

Gilad Shalit at IDF base Amitai near Kerem Shalom, on the phone with his parents, 18 October 2011.
Shalit, soon after arriving Kerem Shalom, Israel, 18 October 2011.
Shalit meets his father for the first time in five years, 18 October 2011.

The agreement is implemented in two stages:

First phase

Of the first 450, 131 were released to Gaza, while 110 returned to their homes in the West Bank. Six Israeli Palestinians were also released. The remaining 203 prisoners were deported, with 40 barred from Israel and the Palestinian territories.[39]

On 18 October, the first group of Palestinian prisoners were transported to Egypt. From there, they will go to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On the same day, Shalit was taken from Gaza to Egypt and from there to Israel. Shalit was given a medical evaluation and was said to be in good health, although pale and thin. Shalit changed into a military uniform and traveled by helicopter to the Tel Nof Airbase, where he met with his family and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[40][41]

On the day of the release of Gilad Shalit, immediately after he was transferred to the Red Cross, Israel released 27 prisoners (most of whom would be allowed to return to East Jerusalem and the West Bank and two of them would be deported abroad). Afterwards the rest of the prisoners were transferred in buses to the West Bank. Those that were expelled to Gaza or abroad, were transferred first to Cairo.

Egyptian state television interview

Immediately following Hamas's release of Shalit, he was interviewed on the Egyptian state-owned television channel Nile TV by anchorwoman Shahira Amin. Generating a storm of criticism in Israel, the interview was considered insensitive and exploitative. An Israeli official stated, "We are all shocked that a so-called interview was forced on (Shalit) before he could even talk to his family or set foot on Israeli soil." Egyptian officials, however, claimed that the interview went according to agreements between Israel, Egypt and Hamas, and that Israel knew about it in advance.[42]

During the interview, Shalit appeared uncomfortable and struggled to speak at points while breathing heavily.[42] It later emerged that Hamas militants were still in the room with Shalit as the interview was set up.[43] Israeli media accused Egypt of using the interview to advance Egyptian and pro-Palestinian positions, with the interviewer attempting to prompt Shalit to praise Egypt for its role in arranging the exchange as well as call for the release of all Palestinian prisoners.[42] Israeli journalist Oren Kessler said the interview was not only exploitative but "amateurish, propagandistic, opportunistic and downright cruel."[44]

Prominent prisoners released as part of the deal

Among the 1,027 prisoners released are about 280 prisoners serving life sentences for planning and perpetrating terror attacks[4] including:

Second phase

In the second phase of the swap deal, and according to the agreement, Israel alone determined the list of the prisoners to be released. However, in consultation with Egypt. The released prisoners were made of: 300 Fatah members, 50 The Popular Front members, and 20 members of The Democratic Front. The remaining 657 had no political affiliation. Egypt asked Israel to include the nine Palestinians women prisoners that were not released from Israeli prison during the first phase. Eventually it was agreed that Israel would release six women prisoners. Hours before the release, clashes broke outside of Israeli Ofer prison, between the Israeli security forces and the families of Palestinians prisoners who were expected to be released in the swap deal,[59] due to the late hour of the release, which they claimed damages the festivities, as well as the fact that most of the prisoners list is made up of prisoners that were expected to be released soon anyway (300 were supposed to be released within a year). Prior to the swap deal, Netanyahu was under pressure to make gestures toward Abu Mazen during the second phase of the swap deal, because in the first phase Hamas prisoners were released and not Fatah.[60] These pressures included one claim from Abbas who argued that such a promise was given to him by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.[61] Despite the fact that in the second phase there were no Hamas prisoners released and two-thirds were Fatah prisoners, as aforementioned, 300 were expected to be released in about a year anyway, and the Palestinian Authority blamed Hamas. In addition, Hamas also declared that it would continue to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to release the rest of the Palestinian prisoners serving time in Israeli prisons.[62]

According to the Israeli criteria, the prisoners that were released in the second phase of the swap deal, are ones who are defined as not having "blood on their hands".[63]

Public reactions following approval of the agreement

Israel

According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, 79% of the Israeli people support the exchange,[64] with 14% of the population opposed.

Almagor, an Israeli organization representing victims of attacks, criticized the Shalit deal as "a victory for terror and Hamas."[65] According to its figures, terrorists freed in past prisoner exchanges cost 180 Israelis their lives.[66] On 14 October, the memorial to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv was defaced with graffiti, with the words "Free Yigal Amir" and "Price Tag" spray-painted on to the memorial. The perpetrator, Shvuel Schijveschuurder of Givat Shmuel, was arrested shortly afterward. Schijveschuurder's parents and three siblings were killed in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing, and he had vandalized the memorial out of anger that two prisoners involved in the Sbarro attack were included in the swap deal. His sister Leah later told media that the family was seriously considering leaving for the Netherlands, where their parents immigrated from.[67][68][69]

Commentator Nahum Barnea of Yedioth Aharonoth said that under the circumstances, considering that the alternative may have been to let Shalit die in captivity, the deal was unavoidable, despite its attendant security risks.[70]

Palestinian territories

Reactions to the swap deal in the Gaza Strip were positive in general, with some convinced Hamas could have achieved a better deal from its perspective.[71] Shawan Jabrin, general director of Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq, said that the deportation of some prisoners to other countries "goes against the Geneva Conventions" and is part of an Israeli scheme to drive Palestinians out of the area.[72]

Huge crowds turned out to welcome the released prisoners in Gaza, chanting demands for militants to seize more Israeli soldiers.[73]

Following her release, Ahlam Tamimi gave an interview which was later posted on the Internet (as translated by MEMRI) in which she stated:

I do not regret what happened. Absolutely not. This is the path. I dedicated myself to Jihad for the sake of Allah, and Allah granted me success. You know how many casualties there were [in the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria]. This was made possible by Allah. Do you want me to denounce what I did? That's out of the question. I would do it again today, and in the same manner.[74][75]

In a public address delivered by Khalil Al-Khayeh, a member of the Hamas Gaza leadership, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on 19 October 2011 (as translated by MEMRI), Al-Khayeh praised some of the released prisoners. Al-Khayeh praised Amir Sa'ud Salih Abu Sarhan and Ashraf Ba'louja for "stabbing the enemies of Allah" and Khalil Abu 'Elba who "drives a car, and crushes the enemies of Allah." He also praised Abd al-Hadi Rafa Ghanim for "divert[ing] a bus from its course and into a ravine near Jerusalem." He further added that "we mustn't forget the Knives Revolution… Our brothers Abd Al-Rahman Al-Dib and Khaled Al-Jei'di… In these streets, they would bring the Jews down, one after the other."[76]

In 2012, Hamas celebrated the anniversary of Gilad Shalit's release with a week of celebrations, and vowed to capture more Israeli soldiers.[77]

Official reactions

Involved parties

Israel:

Palestinian territories:

Intergovernmental organizations
International

Subsequent events

On 18 October 2011 the family of Solomon Liebman, who was killed in a shooting attack 13 years earlier, publicly stated they offer a financial reward of 100,000 dollars for anyone who would kill the two murderers of Solomon Liebman (Khuwailid Ramadan and Nizar Ramadan) who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal.[96] In response to this statement, on 25 October 2011 the renowned Saudi cleric and preacher Sheik Awadh al-Qarani offered a financial reward of 100,000 dollars for anyone who would manage to kidnap an Israeli soldier to be replaced with more Palestinian prisoners.[97] On 29 October 2011 the Saudi royal Prince Khaled bin Talal stated that he has decided to show solidarity with al-Qarani and that he offers a financial reward of 900,000 dollars to those who would manage to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, thus making the total financial reward stand on a million dollars.[98] On 8 February it was published that Iman Sharona, one of the militants freed in the exchange, had been arrested by Israeli authorities after allegedly continuing to perform terrorist activities.[99]

Released prisoners engaged in new attacks

In October 2012, released data indicated that dozens of the released Palestinian prisoners in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange had resumed paramilitary activity. Many of them have joined the leadership of Hamas, other Palestinian prisoners have instead developed weapons and fired rockets at Israeli population centers, and some have recruited members to new guerrilla cells in the West Bank. One of these cells in Hebron allegedly planted a bomb and plotted to kidnap an Israeli soldier. Released prisoners in the West Bank have also engaged in violent activity, and Israeli authorities arrested 40 of them for rioting, hurling Molotov cocktails, handling funding for terrorism, and other acts.[100]

In 2014, the IDF launched Operation Brother's Keeper in response to the disappearance of three Israelis in the West Bank. Part of the operation included rearresting some of the Palestinians released under the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.

In July 2015, Israeli news sources calculated that six Israelis had been killed in incidents involving prisoners released under the Shalit deal who had returned to militant activity.[101][102] Malachi Rosenfeld was murdered in the 2015 Shuvat Rachel shooting directed by released prisoner Ahmed Najar. Released prisoner Asama Asad was complicit in the murder of Danny Gonen.[102][103]

See also

References

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  73. ↑ Tens of thousands celebrate in Gaza, demand 'new Gilad Shalit'; Crowds celebrate homecoming of hundreds of prisoners exchanged for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held by Hamas for five years, 18 Oct. 2011, The Associated Press http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/tens-of-thousands-celebrate-in-gaza-demand-new-gilad-shalit-1.390803
  74. ↑ Released Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi, Sentenced to 16 Life Terms in Prison, Takes Pride in the Number of Casualties She Caused and Proclaims: I Would Do It Again Today, MEMRI (transcript), Clip No. 3157, October 19, 2011. (video clip available here.
  75. ↑ Released Hamas Terrorists Pledge More Violence by IPT News, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Oct 27, 2011.
  76. ↑ Khalil Al-Khayeh, Member of the Hamas Gaza Leadership, Salutes Released Palestinian Prisoners, "The Heroes of the Knife, the Heroes of Martyrdom Operations, Jihad, and the Resistance", MEMRI (transcript), Clip No. 3165, 19 October 2011. (video clip available here)
  77. ↑ "Hamas Celebrates Anniversary of Shalit Deal, Promises to Capture More Soldiers". The Algemeiner. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
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  79. ↑ Hasson, Nir (12 October 2011). "Gilad Shalit's family leaves Jerusalem protest site to head home". Haaretz. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  80. ↑ "Livni: I respect gov't decision on Schalit deal". Jerusalem Post. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  81. ↑ Somfalvi, Attila (11 October 2011). "Lieberman to oppose Shalit deal". Ynetnews. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  82. ↑ "Abbas applauds Israel-Hamas prisoner deal". Ma'an News Agency. Caracas, Venezuela. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  83. ↑ "Palestine split on Gilad Shalit swap". Hürriyet Daily News. Jerusalem/Paris. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  84. ↑ "Gilad Shalit: Israel and Hamas agree prisoner swap deal". BBC. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  85. ↑ UN Chief: Prisoner Swap To Have Far-Reaching Impact On Middle East Peace Process. Rttnews.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
  86. ↑ "UN concerned at fate of Palestinian detainees".
  87. ↑ Blair: Schalit's return is 'a moment of grea... JPost – Headlines. Jpost.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
  88. ↑ Gilad Shalit release hailed by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama – Tim Mak. Politico.Com. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
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  90. ↑ "U.K. 'welcomes' Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal". Haaretz. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
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  93. ↑ Moscow welcomes release of Israeli soldier: Voice of Russia. :. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
  94. ↑ "Turkey welcomes Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap deal". Hürriyet Daily News. Ankara. AFP. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
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  96. ↑ "חדשות - בארץ nrg - ...משפחה שרוצחי בנה שוחררו: "נשלם למי".
  97. ↑ "Saudi cleric offers cash for Israel soldier kidnap".
  98. ↑ "Saudi royal ups offer for capturing an Israeli soldier to $1 million". The Washington Post. 30 October 2011.
  99. ↑ "משוחרר מעסקת שליט יחזור לכלא ל-27 שנים". 08.02.12. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  100. ↑ Fishman, Alex (17 October 2012). "Terrorists freed in Shalit deal resume terror activity, data shows". Yedioth Ahronot. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  101. ↑ Shalit deal death toll, 4 years on
  102. 1 2 Pilegg, Tamar (20 July 2015). "Palestinians freed in Shalit deal killed 6 Israelis since 2014". Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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