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Analysis

Cpl. Gilad Shalit is shown in an undated photo at an Israeli museum.

Gilad Shalit, right, is shown with his father before his capture.

Negotiating Bait

After cease-fire, questions about Shalit's being left out.

Roy Eitan
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

T

he llamas-Israel cease-fire's fiercest
critics are those some expected to
be its greatest beneficiaries: the par-
ents of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Having pursued a largely low-key cam-
paign for the liberation of their son since
he was abducted by Hamas-led gunmen
two years ago, Noam and Aviva Shalit have
reacted furiously to the exclusion of their
son from the Egyptian-brokered Gaza truce.
On Sunday, the Shalits filed a petition
with Israel's High Court of Justice demand-
ing that one of the key components of the
cease-fire — the easing of Palestinian
movement across the Gaza border — be
blocked until Israel commits to retrieving
their son. And in a slew of media inter-
views, the couple accused Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert of potentially having
destroyed any chance of getting the 21-
year-old hostage back soon — or even ever.
Enlisting Gilad in absentia, they pub-
lished a recent handwritten letter in which
he wrenchingly begs to be freed. Their criti-
cism has roiled the Israeli public and fueled
public debate about the efficacy of Israel's
cease-fire with Hamas.
A poll in the June 20 YediotAchronot
found that 78 percent of Israelis think the
Gaza truce should have been conditioned
on Shalit going free, while only 15 percent
disagreed.
Asked if they agreed with Noam Shalit's
assertions that his son had been "forsaken"
by the state, 68 percent of respondents said

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June 26 • 2008

yes and 24 percent said no.
The public's outrage may seem surpris-
ing given the Olmert government's repeated
assurances that Shalit is integral to the truce,
which began June 20. Olmert was to fly to
Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, this week for talks
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on
speeding Shalit's release.
"The 'calming agreement' is, for the time
being, the best means of creating a frame-
work and an umbrella to propel forward a
process of discussion, under the auspices
of Egypt, which we hope will culminate
with the return of Gilad Shalit," Amos Gilad,
the Defense Ministry negotiator represent-
ing the state at the High Court, told Israel
Radio.
Yet llamas has said otherwise, denying
any direct linkage between the suspension
of hostilities and Shalit. "We separated
Shalit and the truce said Ismail Haniyeh,
the llamas leader in Gaza and deposed
Palestinian prime minister. "The Israelis
and their leaders have so far undermined
reaching a prisoner exchange because they
are not accommodating the Palestinian
demands:'
Hamas wants Israel to free hundreds of
jailed Palestinian terrorists in exchange
for Shalit. Israel has balked at some of the
names on llamas' list, arguing that return-
ing mass murderers to the West Bank or
the Gaza Strip would be disastrous for the
embattled, relatively moderate Palestinian
Authority.
But in recent days, Israeli officials have
hinted that they could relax their criteria.
Israel hopes for similar flexibility from
llamas, though it has shown no signs of
that.

The ace up Israel's sleeve is Rafah, the
main terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border,
which was shut by Cairo after llamas seized
control of Gaza a year ago. Israeli officials
say Rafah will not reopen unless there is
"significant progress" in efforts to free
Shalit, though what this would constitute
remains unclear.
Noam Shalit has argued that Rafah could
provide a conduit for llamas to spirit out
his son to a location where he will never be
found. "We all remember what happened
with Ron Arad, how he was handed from
one group to another and eventually disap-
peared',' Noam Shalit said in one interview.
He was referring to the Israeli airman
who bailed out of a damaged plane over
Lebanon in 1986, was captured and then
disappeared. Israeli intelligence believes
Arad was captured by Lebanese Shiite mili-
tiamen and later transferred to Iran, where
many suspect he was killed.
When they announced they were fil-
ing their court petition, the Shalits found
surprise support from Tammy Arad, the
normally reclusive wife of the missing
Israeli air force navigator. "Captivity is a ter-
minal disease. The chances of retrieval are
in your hands; Tammy Arad wrote in an
open letter to the court. "Do not take away
Gilad's hopes of returning to his family. Do
not take away Aviva's and Noam's hopes
of reuniting with Gilad, of holding him in
their arms again."
On Monday, Israel's high court denied the
Shalits' petition.
Dov Weisglass, an adviser to former
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who is now
helping the Shalits, said another concern
is that, with Israel's military and economic

pressure on Gaza eased, Hamas will have
less of an incentive to make a prisoner
swap.
"Due to the siege and the closure, llamas
sought Egypt's help in achieving a 'calm,
and its leaders undoubtedly understood
that in exchange for the 'calm' they would
have to soften their demands for prisoners:'
Weisglass wrote in YediotAchronot. "But no.
Israel did not demand this. Israel, for some
reason, consented for the matter of the
kidnapped soldier to be discussed after the
removal of the siege and closure.
"Now, when the Gazans can breathe
easy, llamas will no longer have a reason
to hurry and renew the negotiations, and
certainly no reason to end it with any con-
cession on their part," Weisglass continued.
"An Israeli hostage is not a bad thing: He is
a pretext for a great many interviews, talks,
trips around the world. In the end, Israel
will also pay dearly for him. What could be
bad about this? Why rush?"
Jerusalem officialdom also sees the
strategy of keeping Shalit in captivity as a
llamas bid to safeguard its leaders against
Israeli assassination attempts. In the past,
llamas has hinted it would execute Shalit in
retaliation for a major Israeli strike.
Gilad, the Defense Ministry official, said
the best chance lies with Egyptian media-
tion. "The Egyptians promised to muster all
their resources to open contacts" on Shalit's
return, Gilad said. "Compared to other
options, this is the best one at the moment.
"Actually, its the only one that exists.
There are those criticizing harshly, and
though the strength of the words may be
impressive, no one is offering a better alter-
native."

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