Prisoners in Ofer jail (archive)
Prisoners in Ofer jail (archive)Flash 90

A terrorist who allegedly leaked information to the press regarding the failure of a deal to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will not be punished, Prison Services officials have informed Arutz Sheva. The reason – officials do not know who he is.

Prisoners who make unauthorized contact with the outside world, or who are interviewed by the media without approval, usually face punishment in an attempt to deter others from doing the same. However, recent reports indicate that many terrorist prisoners own cell phones despite the ban.

The terrorist told media outlets that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had refused to discuss the possibility of releasing 125 terrorists who Hamas demanded be included in a deal to free Shalit. Instead, Netanyahu reportedly submitted an alternative list of prisoners, containing only terrorists serving relatively short sentences.

In addition, he refused to release any Arab Israeli terrorists, the prisoner said. He presented a document as proof of his claims.

“Beyond what has been said in the media, we do not have information that could prove the existence of this document, or indicate the identity of the prisoner,” officials told Arutz Sheva.

The years of Shalit's captivity have seen many reports from mystery sources on supposed breakthroughs in negotiations for Shalit, or alleged failures on Israeli politicians' part to negotiate for his freedom. Many have accused Hamas of using Shalit to wage psychological warfare, particularly by tormenting Israelis with rumored injuries or videos suggesting he will be killed.