Was the life of a single Israeli soldier worth the swap for over 1,000 Palestinians convicted of crimes? Is it ever wise to negotiate with kidnappers or terrorists? Were there alternatives?
According to Jewish law, everything should be done to make sure that if given an opportunity, a Jewish life should be saved. There is no doubt a Jewish life was saved, but at what cost?
Immediately after the exchange for a kidnapped Israel for convicted Palestinian criminals, one freed Palestinian woman (a would-be bomber who was stopped before she could complete her act) re-dedicated herself to carrying out her original intent. She made this pledge in front of a gathering of small Palestinian children while encouraging them to follow in her footsteps.
The Hamas faction responsible for kidnapping Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit openly promoted the kidnapping of more Israelis in order to facilitate a release for over 6,000 Palestinians who remain in Israeli jails.
A member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family increased to $1 million a reward offered by a Saudi cleric to anyone who captures an Israeli soldier to swap him for Palestinian prisoners.
The interpretation of Israel’s willingness to negotiate with terrorists for the release of the Israeli soldier held captive was very clear: Israel will negotiate with terrorists. And yet there was another view as to what Israel had done.
Salah al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official and a member of the group’s politburo praised the “strength” Israel showed and said “To do what Israel did shows the value Israeli society places on human life. This is a pillar of Israel’s strength – to wage war to free one man, to free a thousand prisoners for him.”
K. al-Ahmed, a columnist for the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Oabas wrote, “I wish I were Gilad Shalit; I wish my country cared so much about me.”
Syrian blogger Soori Madsoos posted: “I just envy (the Israeli) government because it cares for its citizens. Our government kills us like animals and our Arab neighbors say it’s just an internal matter.”
It is also being surmised that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to go along with such a lopsided exchange was an effort to “clear the deck” before possibly undertaking an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Amir Oren, the veteran military analyst for Ha’aretz newspaper wrote the exchange “can be interpreted only in a context that goes beyond that of the Gilad Schalit deal.”
Some things are very clear. The action by Israel “shows the value Israeli society places on human life.” Israel’s negotiation with terrorists opened the door to more kidnappings (and more acts of terror) to force Israel’s release of Palestinian criminals. Israel emerged the moral victor which may or may not prove to be the strategic victor. Only time will tell.