Opinion
The Gilad Shalit test
Ophir Falk
Published: 05.05.11, 00:13
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30 Talkbacks for this article
1. Why wait? Turn the screws on the PA now!
Brian Cohen ,   Judean Peoples Front   (05.05.11)
I'll say it again: Israel should immediately impose the exact same conditions on all Palestinian prisoners as Hamas imposes on Shalit. This means: -24/7 solitary confiment -total isolation (no visitors, no mail, no phone calls, no group prayer, no education) -3 meals and a bucket in the corner If anybody complains that this is against the Geneva Convention, then Israel will immediately lift the conditions as soon as the Red Cross confirms that it has visited and examined Gilad Shalit. At which point, the Red Cross can visit the Pal prisoners, but they still stay locked up and isolated 24/7 until Shalit is released.
2. Great Point!!
MosheR ,   NY   (05.05.11)
3. heres a reality check fatah gives two snickels about gilad
freddy   (05.05.11)
fatah playing both cards
4. Shalit's condition
Nathan Smith ,   Provo, UT USA   (05.05.11)
Can anyone say with authority what Shalit's conditions are like and/or what state of health he is in? I am interested in idea set forth by Brian Cohen and would like to know what others think. As an American I objectively pose the following questions: what are the Palestinian prisoner's current living conditions like? How would Hamas, Fatah, and the international community likely react if the exact same conditions that Shalit experiences were imposed upon the Palestinian prisoners? Would this likely motivate Hamas to release Shalit and/or pursue peace or incite them to further violence? Fatah seems to be in a pickle. They don't seem to have the unity required to make agreements and/or peace that is thoroughly representative of the will all Palestinians, but then if they reconcile with Hamas they lose legitimacy. Do I understand their situation correctly?
5. to # 3 - That's the point
Realist   (05.05.11)
6. Opening Prisoner Exchange Negotiations
Mark of Lewiston ,   Lewiston USA   (05.05.11)
Israel holds about 11,000 Palestinians prisoner for crimes against the occupation authority. Israel has yet to recognize a Palestinian right to a state of their own. The Geneva Conventions govern POW treatment and Israel mostly complies according to most sources with respect to prisoners. Of course, Israel is a high Contracting Party to the conventions. So adherence is to be expected. But Israel wants Hamas to act as if it were also a High Contracting Party all the while denying it and the Palestinians the ability to be a High Contracting Party. Should Gilad Shalit be exchanged? Yes, as part of the termination of the conflict prisoner exchanges of all prisoners from both sides. he is a POW, captured on the battlefield. Should he get the same treatment the POWs Israel holds get? Probably. That would be nice, but it is not entirely realistic to expect it since the Israeli government doesn't recognize the right of anybody holding him to exist or have their own government. It is a dilemma inherent in refusing even the possibility of statehood and High Contracting Party status. The US faces the same dilemma with its POW in Afghanistan. And some US talking heads have called for the death of that POW because he is inconvenient to our right wingers. Both POWs are assets to their captors.
7. No Gilad freedom, no palestinian freedom
mabsurfing ,   Nahariya, Israel   (05.05.11)
8. #6 Difference between convicted criminal & kidnap victim
Eric ,   Tel Aviv & NY   (05.05.11)
Mark there is a real difference between convicted criminals who have committed violent crimes and a kidnap victim who has committed no crime beyond his birth
9. Releasing Shalit is easy
Hans ,   Oslo   (05.05.11)
Just release the 11.000 Palestinians Israel has kidnapped, and Shalit will be set free at once.
10. Why release Shalit?
Israel Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (05.05.11)
Just like Hamas, Fatah realizes that Shalit is useful. My guess is that Fatah will release Shalit's body in exchange for a significant concession by Netanyahu. That would allow Netanyahu to pretend that he did not completely surrender, and allow Fatah and Hamas to humiliate Israel.
11. Its the political litmus test
Susya Bar Dror ,   IL   (05.05.11)
I wonder if the EU leadership will accept a top Hamas terrorist and kidnapper as a political partner. Or would the EU subsidize more kidnappings, or missile attacks?
12. Fairlure to Free the 10,000 Pal Political Prisoners
Doug ,   Rochester, USA   (05.05.11)
Will show that the Kahanists are in charge of the Israeli coalition government.
13. So Doug - should we free the suicide bombers to Rochester?
Brian Cohen ,   Judean Peoples Front   (05.05.11)
Please explain how a guy who trains, equips and sends suicide bombers to murder innocent civilians is a "political prisoner". Or are you using the American model, where you Americans simply walked in and slaughtered tens or hundreds of thousands of native americans, stole their land, and stuck the rest of them on reservations? Should we do that with the Palestinians and name it after you, Doug? Yes, we'll call it the "Doug from Rochester Solution to the Israeli-Arab Conflict". You'll be famous!
14. #9 here's a clue by four
Kyle ,   Southpark, CO, USA   (05.05.11)
1. Israel has not kidnapped 11,000 Palestinians. There isn't even enough room in all Israeli jails to hold 11,000 Palestinians kidnapped at random for no reason. 2. Hamas would not even be interested in "11,000 Palestinians kidnapped at random for no reason." They only want their top mass murderers for Shalit. They have stated this repeatedly from day one and have not changed their demands.
15. another outer-space-theory...
eporue ,   europe   (05.05.11)
no, its really easy: just release the prisoners... yawnn..
16. Gilad Shalit
Ofer ,   D.C. Washington   (05.05.11)
"Yeshar Koah" for the eye opening paper. ...Thus, Israel should use the Hamas-PLO Agreement to free Gilad Shalit and see it as a litmus test for the honesty of the parties.
17. HAMAS IN CHARGE OVER ISRAELI PM !!!.
Orao. ,   Srbia.   (05.05.11)
The Gilad Shalit test Op-ed: Failure to free Shalit following unity deal will show that Hamas is in charge Orao.Srbia.
18. NR 9 - WRITING IS EASY - !!!.
Orao. ,   Srbia.   (05.05.11)
19. The difference between Fatah and Hamas
Gee ,   Zikron Yaakov   (05.05.11)
Can only be observed with a microscope.
20. Left can't abandon Good Fatah/Bad Hamas hoax.
Chaim ,   Israel   (05.05.11)
Even though Fatah and it's Hamas terrorist rivals are uniting in front of all the world, the left can't abandon it's Good Fatah/Bad Hamas hoax. Both organizations are Jew hating terrorists and it doesn't matter, in the least, which one takes the lead. Of the two, Fatah is far mor dangerous. It has maimed and murdered far more Jews and it mosly speaks of it's genocidal goals in Arabic. Hamas tells about it's genocidal goals in every language.
21. Well written !!!
Sharon   (05.05.11)
22. If we're talking about native americans...
Mrs. Stein ,   USA   (05.06.11)
What an interesting comment! Did Israel not engage in a similar action of intimidating the Palestinians with Israeli superiority of force, as the Americans did with the native americans, and prompted the Palestinians to leave their homes and proceed to either demolition of the remaining homes or having Jewish families occupy them?
23. To N 1
Luiz Felipe Haddad ,   Niteroi, Brazil   (05.06.11)
Dear Brian Cohen. I understand your comment. When I visited Israel, last year, I saw, through the window of the bus, Shalit's mother, into the Prime Minister's Office House. At that moment, I realized how I would feel if he was my son, grandson or nephew. It is shameful Hamas refuse all basic garantees for the "arrested" Israelian soldier. It means, without any doubt, that the refered entity does not want peace. It's aim is war and destruction. But God is great. I salute you again.
24. That will be revealed (again) if they dont pass test
To #20   (05.06.11)
25. @ #22 - Mrs. Stein
Michael Davison ,   Ra'anana, Israel   (05.06.11)
The answer is no. Learn a little about the conflict before you write. Native Americans did not have the unity or backing that the Palestinians have. If they had had such backing, the US would not exist as you know it today. Fact: the Beirut Institute for Palestinian Studies claims that fully 68% of the Palestinian refugees left their homes before the establishment of Israel, without ever hearing a shot fired or seeing a Jewish soldier. Fact: Many of the Palestinian Arabs left their homes fully expecting to return within a few weeks, after the "victorious Arab armies drove the Jews into the sea"--documented even on Palestinian Authority TV. Fact: it was Arab governments in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon who put the Palestinian Arabs into refugee camps and denied them the most basic human rights of education, healthcare and employment (see Amnesty International report on the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon, 2009). Fact: When Jordan conquered the West Bank in 1948, all Jews resident were either massacred (Kfar Etzion) or expelled, including Jews whose families had lived in Jerusalem since before Roman times. How do these facts compare with the Native American treatment of white settlers? Learn some history BEFORE you put your foot in your mouth. History did not start on June 10, 1967.
26. #1 Brian: You are 100% right!
David ,   Karmiel, Israel   (05.06.11)
Like you and others, I too have said this over and over but the Israeli Government just doesn't listen to the people. Some say that it will "worsen" Israeli foreign relations and turn Israel into a pariah state. The fact is that the Arabs have already succeeded in ending the hibernation of Antisemitism and our of left wing extremists like Peace Now and B'Tzelem are aiding and abetting the Hate Israel campaign all over the world, So by making the conditions of the terrorists in our prisons the same as Gliad Shalit's we will be condemned but who, outside of Israel and a few Zionists in the USA really cares about a Jew boy in captivity? So why doesn't the Government do this? ASK PM Netanyahu.
27. All Commentators
Harold ,   USA   (05.06.11)
If you continue commenting nasty words against the Palestinian, Schalit will be released when he becomes a senior citizen. So shut-up and make peace before it is too late.
28. Decency? This from Israel?
Lee Kaplan ,   San Francisco   (05.06.11)
Shalit is a captured soldier. The IDF routinely shoots unarmed Palestinian farmers and fisherman in Gaza as is documented. Who is the Israeli government to lecture Gaza about "decency"?
29. #28 Lee Kaplan you are so far from reality!
Daniela   (05.07.11)
IDF never shoot without a valid reason. the "poor" fisherman in gaza should work within their own water, if they go out of their limit in order only to provocate IDF they get the reply.
30. #28 Lee, who are you to lecture Israel?
Phil ,   Ireland   (05.07.11)
Do you condemn attacks by Palestinians on innocent Israelis? Do you condemn Hamas for calling for the killing of Jews in the Hamas Charter? Do you condemn Palestinians for teaching their children Jew-hatred as is documented?
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