Germany has worked out a deal with Israel, which would agree to free 450 Hamas terrorists in return for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, and Hamas has three days to say “yes” or “no,” Der Spiegel reported Saturday. Israel also has agreed to free more terrorists after Shalit is safely back home.
The German newspaper said that the German foreign intelligence service proposed the deal, one of countless proposals that has been floated since Hamas and allied terrorists kidnapped the soldier in a raid on a Gaza region crossing three years ago last June.
The Olmert government turned down a similar proposal last February, which called for releasing approximately 1,000 terrorists and prisoners, primarily because security and military officers warned that freeing the terrorists would endanger Israeli security. Hamas rejected Israel’s suggestion that 10 of the most senior terrorists would be released but prohibited from returning to Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
It is not known if the latest proposal includes freeing Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life terms for involving in several murderous terrorist attacks. Polls have continually placed Barghouti as the most popular political figure in the Palestinian Authority, which is committed by the American Roadmap plan to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.
Israeli media have frequently reported rumors of a deal for Shalit, and most of the country’s media have stated in editorials that Israel should concede to all or most of Hamas's demands in order to bring Shalit back home.
His physical and psychological condition are not known, and both the Olmert and Netanyahu governments have failed to win Red Cross visits to Shalit, as required under international law. Both continued to allow visits to Hamas terrorists in Israeli prisons.