Israeli Soldier Released After Five-year Captivity
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011Hamas, the governing party of the Palestinian government in Gaza, freed an Israeli soldier who has been held captive in Gaza for five years. In an Israeli-Palestinian swap, Gilad Shalit was freed in exchange for 477 Palestinians held by Israel. Another 550 jailed Palestinians are to be freed in November. Many of these Palestinian prisoners have been convicted of murder and of planning terrorist attacks.
Sergeant Shalit was a 19-year-old tank crewman when he was seized in 2006 by Hamas militants who had tunneled into Israel. His kidnapping and the murder of two other Israeli soldiers triggered Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that left 114 Palestinians dead, according to a United Nations (UN) estimate. All attempts to obtain the release of the captured Israeli soldier failed because Hamas demanded in exchange the release of Palestinian prisoners, which the Israeli government had refused until now.
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