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The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (; ), also known as "Wafa al-Ahrar" (''"Faithful to the free"''), followed a 2011 agreement between
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
to release Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit ( he-a, גלעד שליט, Shalit.ogg, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'', born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via t ...
in exchange for 1,027 prisoners — almost all
Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
and Arab-Israelis, although there were also a Ukrainian, a Jordanian and a
Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...
. Two hundred and eighty of these had been sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Israeli targets."Hamas to gain politically from prisoner swap deal"
xinhuanet.com. 20 October 2011.
Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper ''
Al-Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferre ...
'' as confirming that the prisoners released under the deal were collectively responsible for the killing of 569 Israelis.Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011. The agreement came five years and four months after Palestinian militants captured Shalit in southern Israel along the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
border. The deal, brokered by
Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
official David Meidan through a secret back channel run by
Gershon Baskin Gershon Baskin ( he, גרשון בסקין, born in New York City in 1956) since August 2021 is the Director of the Holy Land Bond (a company registered in the UK) a new investment fund aimed at investing in housing projects for Palestinians in E ...
and Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Dr.
Ghazi Hamad Ghazi Hamad (غازي حمد) was chairman of the border crossings authority in the Gaza Strip. He was Deputy Foreign Minister in the Hamas government of 2012.Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
on one side and Ahmed Jabari, head of
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB
on the other side. The list of prisoners to be released (based on previous work conducted by German and Egyptian mediators and coordinated by Bundesnachrichtendienst agent Gerhard Conrad), was signed in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
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 Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
. In the second phase, which took place during December 2011, another 550 prisoners were released. The agreement is, to date, the largest prisoner exchange agreement Israel has ever made and the highest price Israel has ever paid for a single soldier. Gilad Shalit was also the first captured Israeli soldier to be released alive in 26 years.


Background


2006 Hamas cross-border raid

On Sunday morning, 25 June 2006, at about 5:30 am ( GMT+2) an armed squad of Palestinian special units from the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
crossed the border into Israel via a
tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
they dug near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. 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 The Merkava ( he, מרכבה, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces and the backbone of the IDF's armored corps. The tank began development in 1970, and its first generation, the Merkava mark 1, enter ...
Mark III tank. The militants managed to blow open the tank's rear doors with a
rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are ...
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 Gilad Shalit ( he-a, גלעד שליט, Shalit.ogg, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'', born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via t ...
, was taken from the tank at gunpoint. Immediately afterward, 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.
– Cpl Gilad Shalit, 19: First Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since 1994
– Amnesty International, the human rights group, called for all hostages to be released ..
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 The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
for a total of 1,934 days leading up to the prisoner swap deal. While in captivity, Hamas refused to allow the
International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signat ...
access to Shalit, and the only indications that he was still alive were an audio tape, a video recording, and three letters.


Rescue attempt

Israeli forces entered
Khan Yunis Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: '' Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142,6 ...
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." On the same day, four
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
aircraft flew over Syrian President
Bashar Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
's palace in
Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...
, as an IDF spokesperson said that Israel views the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of Hamas. 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 Shalit by
Gershon Baskin Gershon Baskin ( he, גרשון בסקין, born in New York City in 1956) since August 2021 is the Director of the Holy Land Bond (a company registered in the UK) a new investment fund aimed at investing in housing projects for Palestinians in E ...
, 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 Ghazi Hamad and Noam Shalit, 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 Shalit to be delivered to the Representative Office of Egypt in Gaza, the first sign of life from Shalit 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 Shalit's abduction. In the end of December 2006 the Egyptians presented the agreed formula for a prisoner exchange in which Israel would release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit 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. Shalit's father had previously blamed the US for blocking talks on his son's release. 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 officials. ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
'' 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.Egypt: Shalit will disappear unless Israel compromises with Hamas , Israel News
. ''Haaretz''. Retrieved 29 August 2011.


The approval of the agreement

On 11 October 2011, the pan-Arab
Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a ...
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. 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. The military
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper
Al-Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferre ...
as confirming that the prisoners released as part of the deal were collectively responsible for 569 deaths of Israeli civilians. Gerald Steinberg, political science professor at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...
and president of
NGO Monitor NGO Monitor (Non-governmental Organization Monitor) is a right-wing non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem that reports on international NGO activity from a pro-Israel perspective. The organization was founded in 2001 by Gerald M. S ...
, said that the goal of Israel allowing the Egyptians to take an active part was "to help stabilize airo 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. Shortly after Benjamin Netanyahu announced that an agreement had been reached, the
Israeli Cabinet The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...
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 Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon ( he, משה יעלון; born Moshe Smilansky on 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 20 ...
, and Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau. Ya'alon (
Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Shar ...
) argued that the prisoners would "go back to terrorism" and that they would destabilize the security situation in the West Bank. Landau (
Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּיתֵנוּ, russian: Наш Дом Израиль, lit. ''Israel Our Home'') is a secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel. The party's base was originally secular Russi ...
) warned that the deal would be "a huge victory for terror" and that it would encourage more abductions of Israelis. 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

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 The Murder of Helena Rapp occurred on 24 May 1992 when a Palestinian stabbed her to death in the Israeli coastal city of Bat Yam. Rapp was fifteen when she was killed. The attack shocked the Israeli public as one of the more prominent of a ser ...
, publicly expressed his strong objection:
"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!"
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". Daniel Bar-Tal, a professor of political psychology at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, 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."
Others believe that the disagreement among Israelis represents rifts and changes within Israeli society. Attorney Dalia Gavriely-Nur, a lecturer at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...
, 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. 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 Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon ( he, משה יעלון; born Moshe Smilansky on 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 20 ...
, and Uzi Landau who said "... this deal is a triumph for terror and sdetrimental to Israel's security and deterrence".


Implementation of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange

The agreement is implemented in two stages: * In the first stage,
Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit ( he-a, גלעד שליט, Shalit.ogg, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'', born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via t ...
was transferred from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and from there to Israel; concurrently, Israel released 477 prisoners. * In the second stage, which took place two months later, another 550 prisoners were released.


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. 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.Ethan Bronner and Stephen Farrell.
Hamas Frees Israeli Soldier as Prisoner Swap Begins
" (18 October 2011). Reuters.
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. On the day of the release of Gilad Shalit, immediately after he was transferred to the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
, 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. During the interview, Shalit appeared uncomfortable and struggled to speak at points while breathing heavily. It later emerged that Hamas militants were still in the room with Shalit as the interview was set up. 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. Israeli journalist Oren Kessler said the interview was not only exploitative but "amateurish, propagandistic, opportunistic and downright cruel."


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 including: *
Husam Badran Husam Badran is the former leader of Hamas’s military wing in the northern West Bank. He was the orchestrator of several suicide bombings during the Second Intifada with the highest number of fatalities including the 2001 bombing which resulted i ...
, now Hamas spokesman in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. * Walid Abd al-Aziz Abd al-Hadi Anajas (36 life sentences) – took part in the execution of the Café Moment bombing (2002), the Hebrew University bombing (2002) and the Rishon LeZion bombing (2002). * Nasir Sami Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Nasser Yataima (29 life sentences) – convicted of planning the Passover massacre (2002) in which 30 civilians were killed and 140 were wounded. * Maedh Waal Taleb Abu Sharakh (19 life sentences), Majdi Muhammad Ahmed Amr (19 life sentences) and Fadi Muhammad Ibrahim al-Jaaba (18 life sentences) – responsible for the attack on bus No. 37 in Haifa in 2002. * Tamimi Aref Ahmad Ahlam (16 life sentences) – Assisted in the execution of the
Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing A Palestinian terrorist attack on Sbarro, a pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, took place on 9 August 2001, in which 15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded. Attack At the time of the bombing, the Je ...
(2001). * Abd al-Hadi Rafa Ghanim (16 life sentences) – the surviving perpetrator of the
Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 attack (Hebrew: ) was a suicide attack on 6 July 1989 carried out by Abd al-Hadi Ghanim of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
in which Ghneim seized the steering wheel of a crowded Egged commuter bus line No. 405 and managed to pull the bus into a ravine in the area of Qiryat Ye'arim. 16 civilians were killed in the attack. * Muhammad Waal Muhammad Douglas (15 life sentences) – took part in the execution of the
Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing A Palestinian terrorist attack on Sbarro, a pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, took place on 9 August 2001, in which 15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded. Attack At the time of the bombing, the Je ...
in Jerusalem (2001). * Muhammad Taher Mahmud al-Qaram (15 life sentences) – directly involved in the planning and execution of a bus attack in Haifa in which 15 Israelis were killed. * Ahmed Mustafa Saleh Hamed al-Najar (7 life sentences) – led a militant squad that killed 3 Israelis in shooting attacks. * Yahya Sinwar (4 life sentences) – took part in the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 and was sentenced to life in prison. Founder of the Hamas security apparatus in Gaza. His brother organized the abduction of Gilad Shalit in 2006. * Abd-Al-Aziz Muhammad Amar (4 life sentences) – took part in the execution of the Café Hillel bombing (2003). * Ibrahim Sulaim Mahmud Shammasina (3 life sentences) – took part in the killing of the boys Ronen Kramni and Lior Tuboul, the taxi driver Rafi Doron and the soldier Yehushua Friedberg. * Amir Sa'ud Salih Abu Sarhan (3 life sentences) – killed three Israelis with a knife in 1990. * Mahmud Muhammad Ahmed Atwan (3 life sentences), Musa Daud Muhammad Akari (3 life sentences), and Majid Hassan Rajab Abu Qatish (3 life sentences) – militants that killed the Israeli policeman Nissim Toledano in 1992. * Muhammad Yussuf Hassan al-Sharatha (3 life sentences) – head of the militant squad that kidnapped and killed the Israeli soldiers Ilan Saadon and Avi Sasportas during the
First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word '' intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning " uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestini ...
. * Abd al-Aziz Yussuf Mustafa Salehi (1 life sentence) – participant in the 2000 Ramallah lynching who was iconically photographed displaying his blood-stained hands to the Palestinian mob after having beaten an Israeli soldier to death. * Bassam Ibrahim Abd al-Qader Abu Asneina (1 life sentence) and Riyadh Zakariya Khalil Asayla (1 life sentences) – Killed the yeshiva student Chaim Kerman. * Fahed Sabri Barhan al-Shaludi (1 life sentence) – took part in the kidnapping and killing of the Israeli soldier Yaron Chen. * Fuad Muhammad Abdulhadi Amrin (1 life sentence) – killed 15-year-old Israeli schoolgirl Helena Rapp in 1992. * Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmur (1 life sentence) – took part in the killing of Nachshon Wachsman. * Mona Jaud Awana (1 life sentence) – lured over the Internet the 16-year-old Israeli high school student Ofir Rahum, pretending to be a young American tourist, managed to drive him to a remote area in the outskirts of Ramallah where three Palestinian gunmen showed up and shot Rahum at close range. * Muhammad Abdul-Rahman Muhammad Zakut (1 life sentence) – Tel Aviv construction worker who stabbed three Israelis, killing two, on the holiday of Purim, 21 March 1989. * Tarek Ahmed Abd al-Karim Hasayin (1 life sentence) – carried out the shooting attack on
Highway 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * National Road SH6 Argentina * Buenos Aires Provincial Route 6 Australia New ...
in June 2003, in which the 7-year-old girl Noam Leibowitz was killed. * Yussuf Dhib Hamed Abu Aadi (1 life sentence) – Convicted of stabbing Israeli soldier Nir Kahana in 2005. * Sh'hadeh Muhammad Hussein Sana'a (1 life sentence) – participated in the King George Street bombing by leading the suicide bomber to his destination. * Abdallah Nasser Mahmud Arar (1 life sentence) – Member of the Hamas cell responsible for kidnapping and killing Israeli businessman Sasson Nuriel in 2005.High Court decides not to intervene in S... JPost – National News
. Jpost.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
Middle East , Hamas releases video of hostage
. BBC News (27 September 2005). Retrieved on 2011-10-20.
* Ahmed Jibril Othman al-Takruri (1 life sentence) – Carried out a firebomb attack on a bus in Jericho, in which a mother and her three children, and a soldier who tried to rescue them, were murdered. * Alaa al-Din Radha al-Bazyan (1 life sentence) – Convicted of perpetrating sniper attacks and belonging to a terrorist group. * Ali Muhammad Ali al-Qadhi (1 life sentence) – Member of a Hamas cell responsible for kidnapping and killing Israeli businessman Sasson Nuriel in 2005. *
Bushra al-Tawil Bushra al-Tawil or Bushra al-Taweel ( ar, بشرى الطويل) is a Palestinian journalist, former Palestinian prisoner and prisoners' rights activist from Ramallah who has frequently been held under administrative detention without charge by I ...
(16 months) – Palestinian photojournalist. She was rearrested in 2014 and had to serve the remainder of her imprisonment.


Second phase

During 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 nine Palestinian women prisoners who had not been released from Israeli prisons during the first phase. Eventually it was agreed that Israel ultimately released 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, 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 Mahmoud Abbas during the second phase of the swap deal, because in the first phase Hamas prisoners were released and not Fatah. These pressures included one claim from Abbas who argued that such a promise was given to him by former Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...
. 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. 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".


Prominent prisoners Israel refused to release

The exchange is also remembered for the well-known prisoners that Israel refused to release, including: *
Marwan Barghouti Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti (also transliterated al-Barghuthi; ar, مروان حسيب ابراهيم البرغوثي; born 6 June 1959) is a Palestinian political figure convicted and imprisoned for murder by an Israeli court. He is rega ...
, convicted of 5 counts of murder: authorizing and organizing the
murder of Georgios Tsibouktzakis Father Germanos, born Georgios Tsibouktzakis (1966-2001; alt. Tsibouktsakis), was a Greek Orthodox monk-priest and abbot of St. George's Monastery, Wadi Qelt who was murdered by a terrorist on 12 June 2001 in a drive-by shooting. Yassir Arafat ...
, a shooting adjacent to Giv'at Ze'ev in which a civilian was killed, and the
Seafood Market attack The Seafood Market attack was a Palestinian terrorist attack on the Seafood Market restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 5 March 2002. Palestinian terrorist Ibrahim Hasouna murdered three Israeli civilians, including a Druze policeman and wounded ...
in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
in which 3 civilians inside Israel were killed. * Ahmad Sa'adat, Secretary-General of the militant
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist an ...
. * Ibrahim Hamed, a commander of
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
terrorist bombings and suicide bombings.


Public reactions following approval of the agreement


Israel

According to a 2011 poll reported by the Israeli newspaper ''
Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
'', 79% of the Israeli people supported the exchange, while 14% opposed it. Almagor, an Israeli organization representing victims of attacks, criticized the Shalit deal as "a victory for terror and Hamas." According to its figures, terrorists freed in past prisoner exchanges cost 180 Israelis their lives. On 14 October, the memorial to Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until ...
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 Giv'at Shmuel, was arrested shortly afterward. Schijveschuurder's parents and three siblings were killed in the
Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing A Palestinian terrorist attack on Sbarro, a pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, took place on 9 August 2001, in which 15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded. Attack At the time of the bombing, the Je ...
, 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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where their parents immigrated from. 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.


Palestinian territories

Reactions to the swap deal in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza. ...
were positive in general, with some convinced Hamas could have achieved a better deal from its perspective. 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. Huge crowds turned out to welcome the released prisoners in Gaza, chanting demands for militants to seize more Israeli soldiers. 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
n the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
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.
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 nga 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." In 2012, Hamas celebrated the anniversary of Gilad Shalit's release with a week of celebrations, and vowed to capture more Israeli soldiers.


Official reactions


Involved parties

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
: * Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
said the deal struck "the right balance" between Israeli security risks and the imperative of returning Shalit "to his family and people." In a televised address from Tel Nof Airbase, Netanyahu stated, "Today we are all united in joy and in pain." * President
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
thanked Netanyahu for what he called the prime minister's "brave decision" and said it was a time to embrace the families who lost their loved ones in terrorist attacks. * Opposition leader Tzipi Livni said she respected the government's decision and sent her blessings to the Shalit family and to all of Israel. * Israeli chief rabbis Shlomo Amar and
Yona Metzger Yona Metzger ( he, יונה מצגר; born 1953) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and the former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. In 2013, while chief rabbi, a fraud investigation was opened. Metzger later pleaded guilty to a number of corruption c ...
released a joint statement welcoming the deal.
Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine that have been Military occupation, militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including E ...
: * Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas expressed support for the deal and said efforts would continue to secure the release of the remaining prisoners being held in Israel. Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki questioned the timing of the swap deal, implying it may have been intended to marginalize the role of the Palestinian Authority and Abbas. * Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal hailed the deal as a victory for the Palestinian people. * Abu Obaida, the spokesman of Hamas' armed wing, the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB
, said in a televised statement in Gaza that "We will not give up until prisons are shut down. A chapter has ended but there are other chapters."


Intergovernmental organizations

*
UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
described the prisoner exchange deal as a "significant humanitarian breakthrough" and expressed hope that the event would have a far-reaching and positive impact on the stalled Middle East peace process. * A spokesman for the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...
expressed the office's concern that shipping prisoners abroad is in breach of international law. *
Quartet on the Middle East The Quartet on the Middle East or Middle East Quartet, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the Israeli� ...
representative
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...
said the return of Gilad Shalit was "a moment of great joy" for Gilad Shalit and his family as well as the Palestinian prisoners released in the swap deal and their families. Blair also said that he hopes the prisoner swap deal "is a moment of opportunity—not only for Gaza—but also a regaining and revival of credibility in the peace process".


International

*
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
– ** President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
welcomed the release of Shalit and, saying he was imprisoned for "far too long". ** White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney James Ferguson 'Jay' Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer, political advisor and journalist who has served as Amazon's Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs from 2015 to 2022, and the United States Wh ...
stated that "We are pleased by the reports that Mr. Shalit will be home soon with his family. The president, as you know, has called many times for his release, and that his release is long overdue." *
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
British Foreign Secretary
William Hague William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...
welcomed the agreement and expressed a hope that Shalit would be reunited with his family "as soon as possible." *
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Sei ...
warmly welcomed the agreement to free Shalit and thanked Egypt for its role in the negotiations. *
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
– Germany, which played a leading role in the prisoner swap negotiations, expressed its support for the deal. *
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
– The
Russian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
published a statement saying, "The exchange gives reasons to expect that the parties will mange to make progress in the settlement of other sensitive issues". *
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu welcomed Gilad's release and stated that Turkey was happy to see Gilad Shalit going free. Turkey along with Egypt and Germany had played a key role in Shalit's release. *
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
– Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast stated that Tehran congratulates the Palestinian nation on its "victory" in the release of Palestinian prisoners.


Subsequent events

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. 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. On 29 October 2011, the Saudi royal Prince
Khaled bin Talal Khaled is a male Arabic name, and may refer to: People * Khaled Azhari (born 1966), Egyptian politician * Khaled Chehab (1886–1978), Lebanese politician * Khaled (musician), an Algerian Raï musician * DJ Khaled, a Palestinian-American DJ Sur ...
stated that he has decided to show solidarity with al-Qarani offering a financial reward of $900,000 to those who would manage to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, thus making the total financial reward stand at a $1 million. 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.


Released prisoners engaged in new attacks

In October 2012, data was released indicating dozens of the released Palestinian prisoners in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange had resumed paramilitary activity. Many of them joined the leadership of
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
, 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 The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. One of these cells in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...
allegedly planted a bomb and plotted to kidnap an Israeli soldier. Released prisoners in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
have also engaged in violent activity, and Israeli authorities arrested 40 of them for rioting, hurling
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fl ...
s, handling funding for terrorism, and other acts. 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. Malachi Rosenfeld was murdered in the
2015 Shvut Rachel shooting On 29 June 2015, Hamas gunmen opened fire on a civilian vehicle moving along Israeli Route 60 near Shvut Rachel in the West Bank. Four Israelis in the car were wounded and rushed to hospital, where one died. The suspects were later arrested. Shoo ...
directed by released prisoner Ahmed Najar. Released prisoner Asama Asad was complicit in the murder of Danny Gonen.


See also

*
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other eff ...
* Pidyon Shvuyim *
Jibril Agreement The Jibril Agreement ( ar, اتفاقية جبريل, Ittifāqīyat Jibrīl) or "Jibril Deal" ( he, עסקת ג'יבריל, Iskat Jibril) was a prisoner exchange deal which took place on May 21, 1985 between the Israeli government, then headed by Sh ...
* Elhanan Tannenbaum *
2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange The 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange took place on 16 July 2008 when Hezbollah transferred the coffins of two Israeli soldiers in exchange for 5 Lebanese militants held by Israel as well as the bodies of 199 militants captured in Lebanon ...
*
List of Arab–Israeli prisoner exchanges Israeli prisoner exchanges are exchanges of prisoners during the Arab–Israeli conflict. Israel has exchanged POWs with its Arab neighbors, and has released about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the ...
*
List of prisoners released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange This is the list of the prisoners released by Israel as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas in exchange for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Gilad Shalit. The agreement is implemented in two stages – In the fi ...
* David Meidan


References


External links


Prominent Palestinian prisoners to be freed in swap with Israel
{cbignore, bot=medic – published on the
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
on 16 October 2011
Israel court to rule on Shalit swap deal
– published on
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
on 17 October 2011 2011 in Israel Israeli–Palestinian conflict Extradition 2011 in international relations 2011 in the Palestinian territories Gilad Shalit Israeli prisoner exchanges