Exchange of What?
Was anything ever more inequitable? In exchange for one young man, a member of the Israeli Defence Forces who was captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid in June of 2006, an anxious government in Israel determined to honour an unspoken pact that exists between the country and its people, is prepared to release from its prisons over a thousand incarcerated enemies. Incarcerated for the quite acceptable reason that each of those individuals attempted - or was successful in their attempt - to murder Israelis.Gilad Shalit's father has been unceasing in his dedicated manipulation of public emotion in his country over the abduction. It was that abduction in part, that led to an unsuccessful military operation - also for the purpose of halting the incessant lobbing of rockets into Israel - Cast Lead, in Gaza. Where searches for Gilad Shalit were unsuccessful, and the cessation of rocket attacks partially successful. Negotiators, from the Red Cross to Egypt, have intervened to help Israel secure the release of Shalit.
Hamas is impervious to calls to conscience, and knows very well that Israel functions as a state to protect its own. Unequal trades between Israel's militant adversaries have taken place before, where Israel has handed over hundreds of those imprisoned because of attacks on the state and its citizens, to secure the release of even the body of a dead Israeli. Many of those released returned to the triumphant victory hurrahs of Palestinian terrorist supporters.
Who celebrate the murders of children and innocent civilians simply because they are Jews, and as Jews, guilty by default of intent to demolish the aspirations of Arab Palestinians to once again secure the entirety of the geography as their own. Not that it ever was quite their own, since they were dominated and governed by Egypt and Jordan, but that is to quibble.
In any event, Hamas prides itself on driving a hard bargain. How much harder can you get than offering the life of one quivering captive, still alive however, for the well-cared-for prisoners of Israeli jails in their hundreds who aspire to pick up, given their freedom, where they left off? The plan is for a release of a total of 1,150 Palestinians in three stages.
The immediate release of 450 hard-core militants. And then Sergeant Shalit will be released to Egypt, while Israel will release the remainder of the prisoners in a two-stage lapse. And at that time Sergeant Shalit will be returned to Israel. Among those to be released is Marwan Barghouti, an immensely popular Fatah leader serving five life terms for planning the murders of Israeli settlers. Barghouti is seen as a potential future PA president.
He is, moreover, fairly stringent in his aspirations, prepared to urge upon the Palestinians continuing armed conflict with Israel, as push-back against their oppressors, while at the same time undertaking peace negotiations. His freedom might just present the opportunity that Palestinians have been awaiting, to wave farewell to distrusted current President Mahmoud Abbas, and to forge ahead with a more militant Barghouti.
Hopes for peace on the worn backs of two depressed and fast-losing-hope populations. Each of which likely hopes for a cessation of uncertainty and violence in their futures. Each of which longs for the opportunity to live normal lives, to aspire for their children's futures, enriched by new opportunities. Each trapped in the mire of suspicion and the living memory of incendiary hatred and vicious blow-back.
Where the balance of power lies is puzzling to ascertain. The stronger bows to the weaker. Enabling the weaker to wrest additional compromises from the stronger. So which, in the final analysis, is the strong, which the weak? One cares deeply for public opinion on the world stage, yet is flayed constantly by demands for submission. The other cares little for international opinion, yet has become inordinately skilled at manipulating it to their benefit.
Somewhere in that dreadful morass of human emotions at their very worst, may conceivably lie liberation from ever-looming doom.
Labels: Israel, Particularities/Peculiarities, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, November 26, 2009
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