Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange

The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (Hebrew: עסקת שליט; Arabic: صفقة شاليط), also known as Wafa al-Ahrar (Arabic: وفاء الأحرار) ("Faithful to the free"),[1] followed a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 prisoners — almost all Palestinians and Arab-Israelis, although there were also a Ukrainian,[2] a Jordanian[3] and a Syrian.

[5][6] Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat as confirming that the prisoners released under the deal were collectively responsible for the killing of 569 Israelis.

The deal, brokered by Mossad official David Meidan through a secret back channel run by Gershon Baskin and Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Ghazi Hamad, was authorized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on one side and Ahmed Jabari, head of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades on the other side.

[9] The list of prisoners to be released (based on previous work conducted by German and Egyptian mediators and coordinated by Bundesnachrichtendienst agent Gerhard Conrad),[10] was signed in Egypt on 11 October 2011.

[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.

When it became clear that there was 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.

[19] 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.

On that day, Baskin arranged a telephone conversation between Hamas Government spokesman Ghazi Hamad and Noam Shalit, the father of the soldier.

The secret back channel run by Baskin and Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad was authorized by Netanyahu in May 2011.

[25] 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.

[27] It stipulated the release of Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 Israeli-held security prisoners; 280 of these served life sentences for planning and perpetrating various terror attacks against Israeli targets.

[5][6] 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.

[7][8] 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.

[28] Shortly after Benjamin Netanyahu announced that an agreement had been reached, the Israeli Cabinet convened in an emergency session to vote on the deal.

[31] 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.

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] 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".

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.

[39][40] 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.

[citation needed] Immediately following Hamas's release of Shalit, he was interviewed on the Egyptian state-owned television channel Nile TV by anchorwoman Shahira Amin.

[73][74][75] 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.

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

[82] Israel: Palestinian territories: On 18 October 2011, the family of Solomon Liebman, who was killed in a shooting attack 13 years earlier, announced a potential financial reward of $100,000 for anyone who killed the two murderers of Solomon Liebman (Khuwailid Ramadan and Nizar Ramadan) who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal.

[101] In response to this statement, on 25 October 2011 the Saudi cleric and preacher Sheik Awadh al-Qarani offered a financial reward of $100,000 for anyone who managed to kidnap an Israeli soldier to be replaced with more Palestinian prisoners.

[103] On 8 February 2012, it was reported that Iman Sharona, one of the militants freed in the exchange, had been re-arrested by Israeli authorities after allegedly continuing to perform terrorist activities.

Many of them joined the leadership of Hamas, other Palestinian prisoners instead developed weapons and fired rockets at Israeli population centers, and some recruited members to new guerrilla cells in the West Bank.

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.