The Israeli/Hamas Prisoner Swap

An Opinion

            One man exchanged for a thousand – is that a win for Hamas?  Does that lopsided swap suggest that the Palestinian Hamas is more shrewd, cunning and superior than Israel?  Or does it tell us about the morality and humanitarianism of both sides? 

            The question was asked during the Las Vegas GOP debate, “Would you negotiate a prisoner swap for the Quantonomo detainees?”  All the debaters agreed you do not negotiate with terrorists – period.  Hamas is considered a terrorist group so according to our standard, was Israel wrong?

            The Israeli Knesset voted on the swap and the majority agreed.  Netanyahu seemed to be in favor of the swap and in following his political career I am inclined to trust his judgment.  But it brings up the proposition that Israel is apt to fight once again the very men they released.  This very thing has occurred in the release of some Quantonomo detainees.  As soon as they were released they joined up with Elquida. 

            There is no doubt there are some issues we are not aware of that contributed to Israel’s decision to agree to the swap, issues of a higher priority than the unequal swap – like morality.

            Israel obviously values life more than Hamas.  The unbalanced swap also conveys Israel’s desire to negotiate and get along.  Hamas may think they pulled off a major coup but in the long run Israel was the more ethical or moral – in the absence of a better word.

            Gilad Schalit was held for five years.  What mental torture was he subjected to during that time?  We find that for a period of time he was held in Egypt.  While in Egypt he was subjected to an obviously coerced interview – a fierce, masked Arab standing behind him.   This was a propaganda stunt that according to the Israelis was a violation of the agreement.  A video of the interview was released minutes after Gilad was back in Israel. 

            We know from the history of Islamic terrorism that whenever they have a prisoner they coerce a few into submitting to a video interview for propaganda purposes.   The Vietnamese did it, so did the North Koreans. 

            Did you notice the physical condition of Gilad Schalit - gaunt and emasculated.  Did you see the physical condition of the Palestinians – fit, fat and sassy.

            The Palestinian detainees were captured in raids upon Israel.  Gilad was captured during one of those raids.  The point is the battles were offense moves by the terrorists.  Israel only attacked the terrorist in retaliation.  In other words it is the Palestinian terrorists, supported by other states like Iran and Syria that keep the conflict going.

            Even though it was one man for a thousand, Israel was the real winner.