Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 17/09 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 28. September – 10. Oktober 2009 1. Gilad Shalit- Video Nach mehr als drei Jahren in Gefangenschaft ist erstmals ein visuelles Lebenszeichen des 2006 von der Hamas in den Gazastreifen entführten isra­elischen Soldaten Gilad Shalit veröffentlicht worden. Die Videobotschaft hatte Israel unter der Vermittlung eines deutschen Mittelsmannes im Austausch für die Freilassung 20 weiblicher palästinensischer Gefangener erhalten. Nachdem lange keine Fort­schritte in den Verhandlungen erzielt werden konnten, waren die Bemühungen in den letzten Wochen verstärkt worden. Während Vertreter der Hamas sagten, ein Gefangenenaustausch könne in wenigen Monaten abgeschlossen werden, gaben sich israelische Stellen jedoch skeptischer. Make them pay “From now on, I expect those calling for Shalit’s release to note how they intend to do it.[…] I do not believe that we should pay‘any price.’ Actually, maybe I do believe it – yet those asked to pay should be the residents of Gaza. After all, they were the ones who chose to be led by a terror organization. Don’t they bear minimal responsibility for the results of their actions?[…] We can exert unbearable pressure on the Palestinians that will turn the Shalit affair from our problem to their problem. As long as they’re holding him, their lives would be hell.” Assaf Wohl, JED 05.10.09 Signs of life “The onus has always been on kidnappers to prove that their hostages are alive and well. Yet this week, the government of Binyamin Netanyahu paid Hamas to do just that. Rather than tell Hamas that unless it could prove Gilad Schalit was in good condition there was nothing to negotiate, Israel agreed to release 20 Palestinian women prisoners[…]. While paying Hamas's price will end the Schalit family's ordeal, it will also have two perilous repercussions: Some of Hamas's most able‘engineers’ and tacticians will resume their careers; and the movement's standing within the Palestinian polity- and in the international arena- will further solidify.[…] Much as we Israelis welcome a sign of life from the soldier whose fate is so much in our hearts, it is the government's duty to pursue his freedom mindful of the many other lives at stake down the road.” JPO 01.10.09 We are not animals “The brief Gilad Shalit video was produced by Hamas with precision. It was meant to convey an impression to viewers in Israel and abroad: We, the members of Hamas who are holding Gilad Shalit, are not animals.[…] We[…] represent a humane approach. We are treating Gilad Shalit as one treats a prisoner of war. The fact is that Gilad is wearing a uniform, alive and well, without visible signs of physical or emotional torture.[…] The grand swap Hamas aspires to seal now[…] includes a component that was absent from other such deals: Legitimacy. After two years of dictatorial rule in Gaza, Hamas needs a breakthrough that will let it out of the Gaza ghetto it trapped itself in along with the Strip’s population.[…] Through a lone 23-year-old soldier, Hamas hopes to salvage itself, take front stage among Arabs and Palestinians, and gain recognition as a relatively sane political organization that can be a legitimate party in any regime to be established in the territories.” Sever Plocker, JED 04.10.09 Jetzt zum“Real Thing” “Es muss verstanden werden, dass sich das“Ne­bengeschäft”, das gestern abgeschlossen wurde, nicht auf den Erhalt eines Lebenszeichens von Gilad als Gegenleistung für die Freilassung der weiblichen 1