Behind the scenes: How the Schalit deal came about
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am


The main breakthrough came in July. After five years of negotiations, Hamas forwarded a letter to Israel in which, for the first time, it outlined its final terms for a prisoner swap for Gilad Schalit. Three months earlier, David Meidan, a former senior Mossad operative, had been appointed chief mediator to the Schalit talks by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Upon receiving the letter, he immediately got to work.


Prisoner swap deal with Israel serves Hamas interests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am


Five years after the indirect talks with Israel to reach a prisoner swap deal, observers believe that the timing of hammering out the deal to release 1,027 prisoners for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is apparently calculated by the Hamas movement to serve its interests. As the deal to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was declared on Tuesday, the leaders of the Islamic movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, described the deal "a great victory."


Gilad Shalit deal boosts Hamas, but also reveals group's weaknesses
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am


Hamas is hoping for a boost in domestic popularity after securing the freedom of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for returning Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, but many also see the historic deal as a sign of the Islamic militant group’s recent vulnerability.



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