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 1,027 prisoners — almost all Palestinians and Arab-Israelis, although there were also a Ukrainian,[2] a Jordanian[3] and a Syrian.[4] Of these, 280 had been sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Israeli targets.[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.[7][8] The agreement came five years and four months after Palestinian militants captured Shalit in southern Israel along the Gaza Strip border.
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 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. Its first phase was executed on 18 October 2011, with Israel releasing 477 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas transferring Shalit to Cairo.[11] In the second phase, which took place during December 2011, another 550 prisoners were released.[12]
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.[13][14] Gilad Shalit was also the first captured Israeli soldier to be released alive in 26 years.[15]
- ^ "Five years on: The Wafa al-Ahrar agreement and prisoner exchange". 19 October 2016.
- ^ "Ukrainian mother of two among released Palestinian prisoners" Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, En.ria.ru. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Deported Palestinian prisoners face new life of exile", Cbc.ca, 13 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Damascus ignores only Syrian prisoner freed in Israeli swap deal", MonstersandCritics.com. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ "Hamas to gain politically from prisoner swap deal", xinhuanet.com. 20 October 2011.
- ^ Mishra, Harinder (12 October 2011). "Israel to release 1,027 prisoners for its lone soldier". IBN Live. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ Army Radio newscast, 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Shalit's Captors: He Wasn't Tortured, He Received Medical Care and Watched TV". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Ravid, Barak (14 October 2011). "The Israeli academic who played a critical role in the Shalit deal". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Pidd, Helen (12 October 2011). "Gerhard Conrad: German Mr Hezbollah who helped to free Gilad Shalit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Captured soldier Gilad Shalit returns to Israel after five years in captivity". News Core. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ Ben Quinn and agencies (18 October 2011). "Gilad Shalit freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ Collard, Rebecca (17 October 2011). "Gilad Shalit deal: West Bank prepares to welcome Palestinians home". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ Issacharoff, Avi (15 March 2011). "Israel and Hamas are both winners and losers in Shalit swap deal". Haaretz. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- ^ Knell, Yolanda (18 October 2012). "Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on". BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2012.