Just off the bus in Gaza after six years in an Israeli prison, one of hundreds traded to Hamas for an Israeli soldier, Wafa al-Bass declared her next goal: abduct more Israeli soldiers. Others who returned said they could not feel satisfaction until the thousands of remaining Palestinian prisoners were freed.
Sgt. First Class Gilad Shalit, a captive of Hamas since 2006, saluted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an Israeli air base Tuesday after his exchange for Palestinian prisoners. More Photos »
And Israelis, at first thrilled at the sight of their liberated soldier, were angered by how he looked — frail, wan and underfed.
It was a day when many things went right. Promises were kept, an agreement between sworn enemies was carried out, people wept with joy. The military chief of Hamas, Ahmed al-Jabari, one of the most wanted and despised men in Israel, was seen on television leading the freed Israeli, Sgt. First Class Gilad Shalit, from Gaza to liberty.
Some said all this should improve chances for peacemaking and reconciliation. But it was almost immediately clear that the prisoner exchange was also a source of acrimony.
“I would like to believe that this will permit the taking up again of discussions” between Israel and the Palestinians, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said. He said the exchange showed that “even in the most difficult moments there can be hope.”
That was not the mood among the great majority of participants. Each side accused the other of mistreating its prisoners. Sergeant Shalit, who was denied Red Cross visits throughout his imprisonment, was pushed into an uncomfortable interview on Egyptian television before being handed over to Israel, and Israelis watched his measured responses and labored breathing with fury.
Hamas officials said their members had been subject in Israeli prisons to “torture, compulsion and revenge.”
Israelis whose loved ones were killed by some of those released said the deal was justice undone and capitulation to a sworn enemy.
Hamas quickly called for its members to capture more Israeli soldiers in order to free the remaining 5,000 or so Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, a Hamas rival, also spoke of the vital need to free the remaining prisoners. He made that point in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he welcomed about 100 freed prisoners in a citywide celebration. And though he has long focused on popular, nonviolent struggle, he is facing pressure to take a harder line as Hamas’s accomplishments seem more tangible than his bid to win Palestinian statehood through the United Nations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel threatened that any freed prisoner who returned to violence would pay for it. Such a person is “taking his life into his hands,” he said at the Tel Nof air base south of Tel Aviv after embracing Sergeant Shalit and handing him over to his parents.
In the 10 months since many across the Arab world began rising up against entrenched dictators, Israel has found itself more nervous and more isolated. A stronger Hamas is likely to corner it further in the region as the Islamist organization improves ties to Turkey and Egypt and maintains an alliance with its longtime sponsor, Iran.
Hamas’s own concerns about its future if it loses its base in the Syrian capital, Damascus, appear to have driven it partly to compromise on demands for the release of certain prisoners in exchange for Sergeant Shalit. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is facing a fierce popular uprising, and his forces have so far killed an estimated 3,000 demonstrators. Hamas does not want to be caught in the middle.
And Israel, fearing changes in Egypt after pending elections there are likely to empower the Muslim Brotherhood, saw that if the ruling military council in Cairo, with which it has cordial relations, leaves power, there might be no deal to free Sergeant Shalit. So it accepted some prisoners into the West Bank that it had previously rejected.
There were people watching the events in Israel who found cause for optimism.
“I believe the masses everywhere want peace,” said Isaac Herzog, a Labor Party member of Parliament. “The Gaza leadership is stuck in its rhetoric of revolution and resistance. But the people are fed up with their leadership. It’s a whole new ballgame in the Middle East now.”
Some Israelis did not agree.
“I am a peace activist, but it takes two to tango,” said Yossi Peled, a sociologist who lives in the northern community of Mitzpe Hila near the Shalit family. “For five years, they did not let anyone see Gilad. His father made clear that he was harshly treated, especially in the first years. So how can this bring the sides closer?”
Mr. Peled called the interview on Egyptian television with Sergeant Shalit “shocking” and “nasty.”
In Egypt, there was also discontent with the interview but for very different reasons — yet another sign of the gap between Israel and its neighbors. On state news Web sites, Egyptians complained that it was wrong to give any kind of platform to an Israeli, that it made him a hero.
Sergeant Shalit was the first Israeli soldier taken captive and returned alive in 26 years. Hamas and other militant groups had captured him in a border raid on Israel in June 2006 that killed two other soldiers.
The Shalit family engaged the entire country to pressure the government to bring him home through a prisoner exchange, using marches and holding a vigil in a tent outside the prime minister’s residence. A deal was nearly reached two years ago, but Mr. Netanyahu considered the price too high. Minor adjustments along with the changed strategic environment changed his mind.
The swap that finally began at dawn on Tuesday was over several hours later as buses of prisoners were released into Egypt and from there to Gaza and the West Bank.
For Palestinians, the return of relatives held for years in Israeli prisons was a source of great elation. Vast celebrations were held in the center of Gaza and Ramallah with vows not to forget those remaining behind. The day began with mosque loudspeakers in Gaza crying “God is great” and “Victory to God” as people awaited the arrival of 477 prisoners. An additional 550 are expected to be released in two months.
The Anatolian news agency reported that 42 Palestinians were being relocated to Turkey, Syria and Qatar. Eleven arrived Wednesday after midnight at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, with their arrival broadcast live on television.
The first passenger off the plane was a middle-aged woman wearing a white coat, and 10 men followed her. They flashed the V sign for victory as they stood by the plane, and they kissed the ground. The former prisoners, who were not identified by Turkish officials, left the airport in two black vans for an unknown destination.
Sergeant Shalit’s father, Noam, who became a familiar figure over the years of fighting to keep national attention on his son’s plight, said after the family had landed in its hometown that he sympathized with the bereaved Israeli families, adding, “We feel the pain for the price they paid for Gilad’s freedom.”
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