Hezi Shai | |
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| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) Nes Ziona, Israel |
| Nationality | Israel |
| Known for | Tank commander captured during the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub and released with two other Israeli soldiers in return for 1,150 Palestinian and Lebanese security prisoners (Jibril Agreement) |
Hezi Shai (Hebrew: חזי שי, born 1954) is a former tank commander in the Israeli Defense Forces. During the 1982 Lebanon War, he was one of five Israeli soldiers declared missing in action after their tanks were hit during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
Shai and his tank crew became separated and he walked into a camp of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, a pro-Syria Palestinian militant organization headed by Ahmed Jibril. He was taken captive and smuggled into Syria. His whereabouts and even the fact that he was alive were unknown to the Israeli defense establishment for the next two and a half years. Later a nephew of Jibril captured by the Israelis hinted to Shai's existence. Following extensive negotiations mediated by Austrian diplomats, Shai and two other captured Israeli soldiers were released in May 1985 in exchange for 1,150 Palestinian and Lebanese security prisoners held by Israel. The Jibril Agreement, involving as it did so many Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences for mass murder, was not popular in Israel, but Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin convinced the Israeli Cabinet to approve the deal.