A good deal
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/10/2011 (5288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
On the face of it, the deal doesn’t seem like much. Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, most of them terrorists, many of them convicted of murdering Israeli citizens, in exchange for one Israeli soldier, a prisoner of war who has been held by the terrorist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, for more than five years.
Sgt. Gilad Schalit was captured in a cross-border raid from Gaza and has been held incommunicado ever since, except for one brief video released by Hamas in the middle of his captivity that showed him reading a newspaper (to confirm the date) but gave no indication of his personal condition or the conditions under which he was being held. Hamas has refused to allow the Red Cross or other humanitarian organizations, including Islamic ones, such as the Red Crescent, to visit him.
Sgt. Schalit, since his capture, has become an Israeli cause. Israelis subscribe to the unofficial motto of the United States marines, that no man, or no woman, will be left behind. His captivity has been a continuing cancer in the Israeli soul.
He will likely be released within the next week, which will help to heal that wound. Israelis were jubilant when the news of the deal was announced, but sobered up quickly when the details became clear — 1,027 terrorists were being freed as the price of Sgt. Schalit’s freedom. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal quickly announced that they would all immediately “return to… the national struggle.”
Israel’s borders will hardly be more secure as a result of this deal, but Israel as a nation may be in the long run. In saving Sgt. Schalit, it has not only confirmed that no Israeli will be left behind, but signalled that it is willing, even under the most difficult circumstances, to attempt to negotiate with those who seek to destroy it. That may not look like much on the face of it, but it has the makings of a good deal in that it shows Israel, at least, acts in good faith.