Israel 'has Shalit exchange list'
Palestinian Militants holding the young Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, have presented Israel with a list of prisoners that they wish to exchange in return for him.
You will remember that shortly after his abduction Israel launched an assault on the Gaza strip. Shortly after this two more Israeli soldiers were kidnapped on her northern border. Many of us at the time felt that Olmert would have no option other than to negotiate, however, Olmert decided instead to wage war in Lebanon rather than enter into any negotiations.
Israel's Channel 2 TV reported that the list included 1,000 names, among them high-profile Palestinian prisoners including jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti."This is the same prisoner exchange that was offered at the time of Gilad's abduction. I remember saying at the time that I found Olmert's decision to invade Gaza and Lebanon in an attempt to free the captured Israeli soldiers a very odd and counterproductive one. I thought at the time that his actions were much more likely to get his soldiers killed than they were to facilitate their release.
The Egyptians have transmitted [to Israel] a list of names of Palestinian prisoners who must be freed," Mustafa Barghouti said. "Everything that has been demanded on the Palestinian side has been transmitted; the ball is now in the Israeli camp."
Israeli cabinet minister Yitzhak Herzog told Army Radio that "a certain progress" was being made over terms for a release.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered to release some prisoners but negotiations have stalled over how many and who.
Indeed, the militants offered to return Gilad Shalit in July of last year if only Olmert would announce a ceasefire, which Olmert refused to do.
I said at the time:
When this senseless fighting is over, when we finally know the cost of this war in terms of loss of infrastructure and loss of human life, we will be justified in asking what was it all for when the Israelis accept a deal that was always on the table before she unleashed carnage in the Middle East.And so it comes to pass. After bombing Lebanon back twenty years and embarking on a military mission in the Gaza strip, Olmert now considers the very prisoner exchange that he, for months, refused to contemplate as he embarked on his suicidal adventure, an adventure from which his reputation has never recovered.
They say Olmert's popularity plunged after the Israel-Lebanon war, now - as he plans to accept the offer that was always available to him in the first place - it deserves to fall even further.
How many died because of Olmert's intransigence? How much damage was inflicted? Is there a single politician anywhere on the planet who resigns over matters of honour anymore? For if ever there was a man who should do so, it is Olmert.
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4 comments:
Wait... they still have that guy?!? I thought the war was because of his capture.. hmm.
I guess Shalit must be feeling more than a little betrayed by his government by now.
The Israeli government have done almost bugger all to get him back and he was taken LAST SUMMER!
And I notice that there's no mention at all about the other two taken by Hizbullah.
But, after all the deaths that Olmert - and Bush and Blair - inflicted on Gaza and Lebanon, they are now preparing to do the deal that was open to them back then. So, they are admitting that they wasted their time when they killed thousands and cost millions of pounds worth of damage to Lebanon's infrastructure.
It achieved nothing, so now we'll go back to the plan that was on the table from day one. It's beyond disgraceful.
Maybe they should have followed the British/European model of dealing with threats and simply appeased them, followed quickly by handing them their collective testicles.
The Brits got their guys back, Jason. What did all the Israeli killing achieve if they are now going to do what was always on offer to them?
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