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Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange

The latest prisoner exchange, while promising, is only the start to what is expected to be a long, difficult negotiation.

By Danylo Hawaleshka
Published On 27 Nov 2023

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
After seven weeks of Israeli bombardment, the people of Gaza were granted a brief truce brokered by Qatar, with help from Egypt and the United States. The pause included an exchange of Hamas captives for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. While widely welcomed, it was also seen as only a beginning.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
On October 7, Hamas took more than 200 captives in Israel. Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, has said he’s willing to release them all, but only in exchange for every Palestinian in Israeli custody — or more than 10,000 prisoners.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
Prisoner exchanges are rarely one-to-one affairs. Public anger and political expediency must often be factored in. In 1983, for example, Israel freed more than 4,500 Palestinians for six Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon and held by the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
Two years later, 1,150 Arab prisoners were exchanged for three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
But probably the best-known deal involves Israeli Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit. In 2006, Hamas’s Qassam Brigades attacked an Israeli tank in Israel, taking Shalit prisoner.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
It would take more than five years, and mediators from Germany and Egypt, to free Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinians.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
Of all the people exchanged for Shalit in 2011, none is as notorious as Sinwar, who served more than 20 years in an Israeli prison. Today, he’s Israel’s most-wanted man, considered the architect of the October 7 attack. As a result of releasing Sinwar, Israel can be expected to baulk at freeing all its prisoners.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
Prior to October 7, Israel held 5,200 Palestinians captive. Since then, the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Detainees Affairs says that number has more than doubled, to more than 10,000.
Israel, Hamas and the toil of the prisoner exchange
The number of people held by either side can and will fluctuate, but their families are expected to remain vigilant in demanding their freedom. But that raises a question: Will exhausting 'every possibility' include emptying Israel’s prisons of all Palestinians, once and for all?