A three year saga may finally be over.
Abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit may finally return home in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians. After years of negotiations over the individuals on the exchange list and the terms for the release of some of the prisoners, such as whether they should be exiled, news reports indicate that Israeli and Hamas officials finally reached a deal. The finishing touches are still be negotiated, but Shalit could be home by Friday.
Many Israeli officials denied nearly reaching a deal with Hamas, but those denials could represent the government’s desire to limit publicity on a possible swap as to prevent Hamas from obtaining additional leverage by seeing a massive outcry in Israel for a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would add transparency to any pending deal by publicly debating the issue in the Knesset.
However, Palestinian prisoners are expressing optimism to their families on returning in the near future, thereby adding credibility to rumors of a pending deal.
The deal, if it happens, has not come easily. Ousted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s tenure was tarnished by the Shalit saga and the first Israeli negotiator was fired over his failed efforts to secure Shalit’s release. Similarly, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak repeatedly expressed his desire to secure Shalit’s release and held multiple summits with Hamas officials, to not avail.
Any deal will be excessively controversial in Israel, with many opponents to the deal saying more soldiers will be targets and Hamas -or other terror groups- will kidnap more Israelis as bargaining chips.
Amidst speculation on the release of Shalit, talks of the impending release of another individual also swirl. Will imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti be released in the trade? Barghouti could succeed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and has significant support among all segments of the Palestinian population, including Hamas supporters. The release of Barghouti would put a leader back in play that could unsettle Hamas’ grip on the population. Therefore, even Hamas might be pushing for Barghouti to remain in an Israeli prison cell. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom rejected the notion that Barghouti would be freed. However, we must still wait to see the final list and some media outlets are disputing Shalom’s claim.
