Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried on Tuesday to cool expectations of a deal that free an Israeli solider held by Hamas militants. "There is no deal yet and there might not be one," he said.
Negotiations for this swap have continued for three years, and the recent news of a Hamas delegation and a German official meeting Tuesday in Egypt in hopes of reaching consensus has intensified hopes for a final agreement. In what many expect to be the resulting deal, Israeli Sergeant Gilad Schalit would be swapped for approximately 1,000 Palestinians who are currently held in Israeli prisons.
The two sides have long argued over which and how many Palestinian prisoners would be freed, as Hamas is pushing for the release of dozens serving long sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.
A successful prisoner exchange would certainly have wider political implications. Hamas would view an agreement as a boost to its credibility and legitimacy, though Israel seems likely to try to temper this by also freeing Fatah prisoners. It is possible, and seems increasingly likely, that Israel would choose to release Marwan Barghouti, the popular Fatah leader. He is currently serving a life sentence for murder, though he claims innocence. But, during a time when Fatah is facing a crisis at the possible resignation of its leader and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, a freed Barghouti could rebuild Fatah and perhaps help to heal the divide between his party and Hamas. Needless to say, this could have profound implications for the Palestinians.
At the same time, a breakthrough would hand Netanyahu a much-needed diplomatic victory. Much of the international community has grown skeptical of his attitude towards peacemaking, and a successful deal with the Palestinians would help to bolster his reputation abroad.
While those close to the Palestinian side have reported that Israel has accepted Hamas’ demands, this has not been confirmed by Israeli officials. And, the continued violence has also threatened to further waylay any progress. Despite Hamas militants’ agreement over the weekend to halt their fire, they continued to launch rockets on Monday. This brought an Israeli response early Tuesday in the form of an aircraft attack on smuggling tunnels in Gaza and an alleged weapons factory.
By Ebru Ozkan (JTW)
