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Israel

Gilad Shalit's freedom 'will change the Middle East'

November 26, 2009 14:58
Captured soldier Gilad Shalit depicted in a graffitti painting near the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

ByAnshel Pfeffer, Anshel Pfeffer

4 min read

It is safe to say that the Gilad Shalit saga is now in its final stretch. Assessments by senior Israeli sources range between a prisoner exchange taking place sometime next week and sometime next month. What is clear is that both sides have reached the point of no return.

Too much is at stake for Israel and Hamas, both on the domestic front and in the international arena. Outside the direct mechanics of the negotiations, both sides made major concessions this week which will go a long way to enabling the deal to go down.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Wednesday evening that Israel would freeze settlement building in the West Bank (but not in east Jerusalem) for 10 months has been in the offing for months, but the actual timing has everything to do with an impending Shalit deal.

There are two players who are less eager for a prisoner swap to go through. Mahmoud Abbas and parts of his entourage are extremely worried that the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will boost Hamas’s flagging fortunes and further damage Mr Abbas’s tarnished credibility among his own people.