Ofer Dekel, Israel’s special emissary to Egypt who had led negotiations with Hamas for the freedom of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, resigned from his position late Tuesday night. Dekel’s place will be temporarily filled by Israel Security Service (Shin Bet) head Yuval Diskin until a permanent replacement is found.
Shalit has been in Hamas captivity for 1,032 days.
The Shalit family didn’t attach much significance to the change, while Egypt, Hamas, and the PA had reacted differently to Dekel’s resignation.
Dekel met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu late Tuesday night to tell him that he no longer could fill his position as emissary for the Hamas talks. He said that had asked former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert several months ago to be relieved of his duties but stayed on at Olmert’s request until the end of his premiership. The two are personal friends.
Netanyahu expressed regret at Dekel’s decision but said he appreciated his work on behalf of freeing Shalit. “Ofer Dekel volunteered night and day to this critical task for no compensation,” praised Netanyahu.
Dekel, who had formerly held the post of deputy head of the Shin Bet, was instrumental in the prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah that released five terrorists in exchange for the bodies of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in July 2008.
Yuval Diskin, current head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), will temporarily fill Dekel’s place until Netanyahu finds a replacement. Diskin was heavily involved in the push to close a deal with Hamas for a prisoner exchange at the end of Olmert’s term. The agreement fell through after Israel agreed to release only most, but not all, of the 450 terrorists on Hamas’s list and stipulated that 10 murderers would not be allowed in Judea and Samaria.
The Shalit family, which has taken an active and public role in trying to obtain the soldier's freedom, said they would leave the task of choosing a successor to Dekel with Netanyahu. On the other hand, they placed the final responsibility for returning Shalit home with the Prime Minister.
“We expect the Prime Minister to do all he can to bring Gilad home. It is clear to us that the final authority lies in the Prime Minister’s hands alone, and we hope he will makes decisions reflecting the state’s obligations to our son,” the family said.
Arab news sources quoted conflicting reports whether Dekel’s resignation would help or hinder the negotiations.
Al-Sharq Al-Awast quoted a senior Egyptian source who said the move showed Israel was no longer interested in a prisoner exchange deal. A Hamas source also told the paper that the change showed Israel wanted to harden its approach to the terrorist organization, possibly even returning to using force to achieve its goals.
Al-Hayat, on the other hand, quoted Palestinian Authority sources that said Netanyahu was still interested in completing a prisoner exchange deal. “Ofer Dekel’s resignation, and the search for his replacement, come in the framework of renewing the discussions,” the sources explained.