One Israeli Soldier Equals More Than 1,000 Hamas Fighters

Thursday, October 13, 2011
Gilad Shalit
The first prisoner exchange between Israelis and Palestinians in more than 25 years was overshadowed by the disproportionate ratio of the deal.
 
For one Israeli soldier, Sgt. Gilad Shalit, Israel agreed to let go more than 1,000 Hamas fighters. Shalit was abducted inside Israel by Hamas militants on June 25, 2006. The demand for his return has crossed party and ideological lines in Israel, and if the deal goes through, it will likely provide a boost for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has seen his popularity damaged by widespread protests against income inequality and a growing sense of unease regarding his handling of the Arab Spring.
 
For Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since winning the legislative election of January 2006, the trade could bring a rise in support after Mahmoud Abbas, the president of its arch-rival, Fatah, gained prestige for his speech at the United Nations calling for Palestine to be recognized as an independent nation.
 
Of the 1,027 prisoners covered under the agreement, 479 Palestinians will be released within a week, with another 550 gaining their freedom in two months.
 
Among those apparently being set free are Abd al-Hadi Ghanayem, the surviving perpetrator of a Tel Aviv bus bombing in July 1989 that killed 16 people, and Ahlam Tamimi, who aided a suicide bomber who killed 15 people at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem in August 2001.
 
The last time a captured member of the Israeli military was returned alive was 1985, when Israel traded 1,150 prisoners for three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon and held by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff
 

Timing Key to Shalit Release Deal (by Paul Danahar, BBC News) 

Comments

Hinda 12 years ago
they are terrorists. they are "palestinians" who have no love for living. to be a shaheed (martyr) is the best. they hate life which is why the would put bombs in their underwear or put bomb belts on them. they are not even human in my opinion. by the way, during the six years that the young man was incarcerated, the red cross did not visit, he did not see sunlight, he became vit d deficient, he was in a room with no light, no bedding, bad food, hardly anything to drink. concentration camp-like conditions and the world could care less. this current administration, the un, the eu, and everyone who supports the "palestinians" should be ashamed of themselves for supporting an evil entity that hates life. the released terrorists (and they are that) have been appearing in the media telling children it is up to them to carry on the tradition of slaughtering jews. this is barbaric. the pows that were released were given 3-5 meals a day, clean bedding, hygenic apparatuses, education, free computers, free medicine, and exercise. they were constantly being visited by their loved ones. the israeli was refused this one thing. by the way, the israeli now has severe health issues that will plague him for the rest of his life. so now there is proof that there will always be a double standard. the world wants to see the partners of the nazis (muslim brotherhood and their cohorts [pflp]) survive and win over jews, christians, hindus, ahmadyias, bahais, and zorastrians. history does repeat itself and the world is to blame. yes i'm angry as a person can get that in the 21st century it's trendy to support the evil when 70 years ago - we fought against this very entity. by the way - to roba. what happened in aug. 2005. israel gave up via a false agreement called the oslo accords (the plo never agreed/ratified it - hence in any court of law this will not be a binding agreement) land and buildings, farms to the plo which gave it to hamas. the mass destruction of what - where the rockets were coming from? over 18,000 rockets have entered israel from the "palestine" region and when israel went in - they found children who had handicaps, sick, dying - tied to the rocket launchers on un schools, hospitals and buildings. the people were warned ahead of time, like the us has been doing in iraq, afghanistan - prior to striking - they warn the people to flee. if they do not flee - oh well. the rulers refused to let anyone flee. it's not israel's fault - but the rulers who are getting paid by the us government and using us weaponry against israel. this is called sedition. and it is an offense that needs to be brought up and dealt with.
Roba 12 years ago
why are you calling them hamas fighters? that is not logistically correct. many have no connection to hamas to begin with. many of those prisoners were captured by the israeli government for no crime committed in the first place. many were not even convicted of any crimes either. they simply resisted the tyranny of israel in the streets by demonstrating the unfairness and oppression experienced by the palestinian on a daily bases.we are talking about women and children among those to be released soon inshallah. don't forget how many innocent palestinians died in their homes, mosques, and schools when israel charged its weapons of mass destruction on gaza in 2008. in your view, this doesn't deserve mentioning?

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