Why Hostage Exchange Is Critical For PalestineOn October 7th, Hamas launched an “unprecedented” attack on Israel, taking more than 240 civilians and soldiers as hostages. The attack was a herculean blow against Israel on different grounds. Hamas literally challenged Israel’s military and intelligence hegemony and bequeathed the burden of providing “proof” of their strength upon Benjamin Netanyahu and his force.
The fact that Hamas, a considerably small force while compared to the Israeli Defence Force, that boasts about huge military personnel and heavy arsenal capacity, managed to capture around 249 Israelis in motorbikes, golf carts and vans, baffled the Israelis and caught them completely off guard. The news also evoked dreadful memories of every other time Hamas took Israelis as hostages.
Hamas taking Israelis as hostages never ended good for Israel. Though the occupation force fought tooth and nail during similar situations in the past, Hamas stood their ground and achieved what they demanded for.
It is not the first time Hamas captured Israelis and then vanished from the sight of Israeli intelligence, one of the most sophisticated agencies around the globe as it claim to be. Hamas has been doing this hostage exchange business since 1994.
Hamas and its hostage exchange deal
Hamas and its tactic of swapping Israeli hostages with Palestinian prisoners in Israel can be traced back to 1994, when Hamas captured a US-Israeli dual national, Nachshon Wachsman, who was also a member of Israel Defence Force. The case of Wachsman had created huge commotion.
Nachshon Wachsman:
Nachshon Wachsman was abducted by Hamas on Sunday October 9th 1994, after returning from a one-day training course in northern Israel. On October 11th, Hamas released a video tape that showed Wachsman saying he will be executed by Friday 8 pm if the demand of releasing Palestinians were not met.
In the case of Wachsman, Hamas threatened to kill him if Palestinian prisoners were not released, which was illegal under international law. The group demanded the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of Hamas, and other 200 Palestinians who were in Israeli prison. The Hamas founder had been under Israeli imprisonment since 1989.
However, Hamas agreed to extend the deadline for the swapping of Palestinian prisoners with Wachsman, and mediators thought that a deal was almost reached. But everything went in vain when Israel launched a military attack as an attempt to rescue Wachsman. In the attack, Nachshon Wachsman, three Palestinians and an Israeli officer died. The occupation force claimed Wachsman had been shot dead by Palestinians. During the rescue mission, two Palestinians were captured, including Jihad Yarmur.
The incident drew striking division between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas. After the video tape was released, Yitzhak Rabbin, the then Prime Minister of Israel sought Yaser Arafat, the chairman of PLO to help find Wachsman. Arafat denounced the issue as an embarrassment to Palestinian Authority (PA). The leader took it up on himself to bring back the Israeli soldier from Hamas captivity and his PA security started crackdown on Hamas. Over 200 Hamas members were arrested by the PA including officials.
Gilad Shalit:
The story of Gilad Shalit will never be forgotten by Israelis and Hamas alike. Everything that has happened so far since October 7th, resembles everything that happened after Shalit was captured by Hamas.
Shalit was a soldier of Israeli Defence Force. He was captured by Hamas during a cross-border raid on June 25, 2006. Hamas fighters captured him by emerging from a tunnel near Israeli border.
Capture of Gilad Shalit was the result of the hostility that raised from the Gaza Beach Explosion that happened on June 9, 2006. Around eight Palestinians were killed and 30 were injured. Another incident to remember was the detention of Muamar brothers.
A day prior to the capture of Shalit, IDF arrested Muamar brothers, Osama and Mustafa, during an overnight raid. They were accused of being Hamas members. Hamas later clarified the brothers were sons of Hamas member, but did not have any involvement with the resistance group.
After attacking IDF post and capturing Gilad Shalit, Hamas took him to Gaza through the tunnel. After one day, Popular Resistance Committees (which included Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad) released a statement asking to release all female Palestinian prisoners and prisoners under the age of 18 from Israeli prison. But the demands were not met.
Israel made attempts to rescue Shalit. The mission was named as Operation Summer Rains, from June 28, 2006. The Summer Rains was followed by Operation Autumn Clouds, from November 1 to November 26. After both the mission, Israel rained bombs above Gaza. Though Egypt tried to mediate, nothing happened. Israel refused to release Palestinian prisoners in Israel and Hamas refused to let go Galid Shalit.
The fighting went on until 2011. Egypt-mediated negotiation talks geared up once again between Israel and Hamas. Israel volunteered for Prisoners swap and threatened to completely withdraw the offer if Hamas refused. Hamas warned that end to the hostage swap negotiation will lead to “disappearance” of Shalit, as reported by Haaretz. Israel agreed to release 1000 Palestinians but refused to let go senior Hamas leaders. Needless to say, Hamas denied to cooperate.
After five years and four months of the negotiations and fighting, Israel and Hamas reached a deal under the mediation of Turkey and Germany. The deal was signed in Egypt on October 11, 2011. Total of 1027 Palestinians were released in exchange of one Israeli. The released prisoners also included Jihad Yarmur, who was arrested for allegedly murdering Nachshon Wachsman.
The Gilad Shalit’s story explains much about what Hamas deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri meant when he said, “what we have in our hands will release all our prisoners”, right after the “unprecedented” attack of October 7, 2023.
Where does Israel stand now?
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing gainsay since his return to power. Already divided over the political infighting, losing more than 240 civilians and soldiers to an armed wing from Gaza, the strictly blockaded enclave under Israel’s occupation, did nothing but added more fuel to the already smouldering blaze of political division inside Israel.
The resultant ferocious bombing on the civilians of Gaza without sparing hospitals, schools and UN installations endorses the depth of the wound Hamas has inflicted on Netanyahu and his force’s reputation. Trying hard to provide proof of the presence of hostages under Al Shifa hospital reached nowhere but a dead end.
The four days truce is also not ticking for Israel. The war clock is under the clasp of Hamas. After continuously reigning bombs on the besieged Gaza Strip – 20 km in width and 40 km in length – Israeli occupation force could not track down Hamas or the hostages.
The 50 hostages were released following Qatar’s intervention. The truce was agreed under the condition of releasing 150 Palestinians in the Israeli prison and the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza without any restrain. It will not be wrong to say that, despite the heavy loss, Hamas holds the leash, like every other time, and history is repeating.