It was a year filled with hope and growth, overshadowed by terrorism and unrest. The Israel Defense Forces looks back at all of it, the good and the bad, in this video review.

The year 2011 was one filled with the momentous release of kidnapped IDF Sgt. Gilad Shalit after more than five years of captivity by the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza.

A year in which 1,027 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners -- including literally hundreds of bloodthirsty terrorists -- were freed as the price for Shalit's return. One Jewish soul, so precious that more than a thousand Arab terrorists were set free in exchange.

In the following video, the IDF wishes all of Arutz Sheva's readers, and the People of Israel, a Happy 2012.

"May all of our challenges help us grow into a better future, and may the coming year be a happy and peaceful one," the IDF Spokesperson says.