A guest post on Kiwiblog by Lucy Rogers:
It’s headline news: Israel and Hamas have reached what some Western media outlets are having the nerve to call a prisoner swap arrangement. (For example, see NBC News’ article Israel and Hamas reach deal on Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, which says that the deal will “free dozens of hostages held in Gaza, as well as Palestinianis [sic] in Israeli jails” and compares the plight of Palestinians in Israeli jails with that of Israeli hostages held in Gaza).
The terms of the deal
Israel is releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 33 of the 98 hostages held by Hamas. This includes 50 prisoners for each of five female soldiers, totalling 250 prisoners for the five soldiers alone: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-to-release-50-palestinian-prisoners-including-30-serving-life-sentences-for-each-female-soldier-hostage/ 30 of the prisoners being exchanged for the five female soldiers held hostage by Hamas are terrorists serving life sentences for the murder of Israeli civilians.
Hamas is “releasing” dead bodies
What is not being widely reported on however is that 1/3 of the hostages being “released” by Hamas are in fact dead bodies. Israel is literally releasing live terrorists for the bodies of civilian hostages. That should tell you everything you need to know about Israel and Hamas respectively. Although further phases of the deal may result in the release of further hostages, I do wish to re-emphasise that at this stage only 33 are being released.
Gilad Shalit repeated?
The deal is reminiscent of the Gilad Shalit hostage deal in 2011, when over 1000 prisoners including mass murderers were released by Israel in exchange for a single soldier held captive by Hamas. This was later recognised to be a poor decision as one of those prisoners was Yahya Sinwar, who went on to become the leader of Hamas and orchestrate the mass murder of Israelis on October 7 2023. That in practical terms is the cost of releasing mass murderers. Shalit’s release came at a terrible price.
This deal came following American pressure
Do I agree with the deal? Well, in one sense it doesn’t matter whether it’s a good deal or not. Israel has suddenly backed down on a whole series of red lines: Hamas remains in power post-war and Israel will retain no military presence in Gaza whatsoever. Netanyahu’s willingness to accept what was an unthinkable deal a few months ago suggests that there is some new external factor affecting decision making. To my mind there is only one explanation, and that is the election of Donald Trump.
Trump doesn’t care about the consequences
Trump said recently on social media that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released by the date of his inauguration. I suspect however that like most politicians Trump is not a philanthropist and does not care one way or the other about the specifics of the deal. He wants the hostages released at any cost so that he can boast about that to his voter base. God only knows what leverage he exerted with Netanyahu.
The Gaza war was pointless
If this is all that Israel wants from a deal, then it could have been agreed to a year ago. Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages might still be alive, to say nothing of thousands of Gazans. The verdict is out: the war in Gaza has achieved nothing and Hamas remains in power and has vowed to repeat October 7 again and again. Do not be deceived by the destruction in Gaza: all Hamas sees is the reconstruction which will occur with billions in aid from the Arab states coming from Western petrol money.
The hostages will never recover
My thoughts are with the elated Israeli parents expecting their daughters home only to receive them back in body bags in a few days. I share the joy of the hostages being freed, but I know that many of them will have PTSD, nightmares, intrusive thoughts and anxiety for the rest of their lives. According to the Jerusalem Post many of the hostages freed in November 2023 have suffered permanent physical disability as a result of torture at the hands of Hamas.
What is the cost?
My thoughts are also with the future victims of the terrorists whom Israel is currently releasing. Hamas hates Westerners in addition to Israelis: I can only hope that the people kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered are not New Zealanders.
Hamas is “releasing” dead bodies
What is not being widely reported on however is that 1/3 of the hostages being “released” by Hamas are in fact dead bodies. Israel is literally releasing live terrorists for the bodies of civilian hostages. That should tell you everything you need to know about Israel and Hamas respectively. Although further phases of the deal may result in the release of further hostages, I do wish to re-emphasise that at this stage only 33 are being released.
Gilad Shalit repeated?
The deal is reminiscent of the Gilad Shalit hostage deal in 2011, when over 1000 prisoners including mass murderers were released by Israel in exchange for a single soldier held captive by Hamas. This was later recognised to be a poor decision as one of those prisoners was Yahya Sinwar, who went on to become the leader of Hamas and orchestrate the mass murder of Israelis on October 7 2023. That in practical terms is the cost of releasing mass murderers. Shalit’s release came at a terrible price.
This deal came following American pressure
Do I agree with the deal? Well, in one sense it doesn’t matter whether it’s a good deal or not. Israel has suddenly backed down on a whole series of red lines: Hamas remains in power post-war and Israel will retain no military presence in Gaza whatsoever. Netanyahu’s willingness to accept what was an unthinkable deal a few months ago suggests that there is some new external factor affecting decision making. To my mind there is only one explanation, and that is the election of Donald Trump.
Trump doesn’t care about the consequences
Trump said recently on social media that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released by the date of his inauguration. I suspect however that like most politicians Trump is not a philanthropist and does not care one way or the other about the specifics of the deal. He wants the hostages released at any cost so that he can boast about that to his voter base. God only knows what leverage he exerted with Netanyahu.
The Gaza war was pointless
If this is all that Israel wants from a deal, then it could have been agreed to a year ago. Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages might still be alive, to say nothing of thousands of Gazans. The verdict is out: the war in Gaza has achieved nothing and Hamas remains in power and has vowed to repeat October 7 again and again. Do not be deceived by the destruction in Gaza: all Hamas sees is the reconstruction which will occur with billions in aid from the Arab states coming from Western petrol money.
The hostages will never recover
My thoughts are with the elated Israeli parents expecting their daughters home only to receive them back in body bags in a few days. I share the joy of the hostages being freed, but I know that many of them will have PTSD, nightmares, intrusive thoughts and anxiety for the rest of their lives. According to the Jerusalem Post many of the hostages freed in November 2023 have suffered permanent physical disability as a result of torture at the hands of Hamas.
What is the cost?
My thoughts are also with the future victims of the terrorists whom Israel is currently releasing. Hamas hates Westerners in addition to Israelis: I can only hope that the people kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered are not New Zealanders.
2 comments:
This is a Clayton's deal if ever there was one. Do we take it that one Israeli life is worth multiple Palestinian ones? Also, if 1/3rd of those Israelis returned are deceased, maybe there should be some quid pro quo to that with what is handed back the other way - just saying ...
Israel reaps what it sows.
Post a Comment