Eye on the Enemy: Media Summary Execution for Shalit in Egypt

Local Editor

Hebrew Media Round Up for Tuesday 19-10-2011

Buq'ata preparing to welcome the son convicted of spying to Hezbollah

Maa'riv - Ziv Zion

6 years after being sentenced to 20 years in prison (since 2005) for planning to kidnap "Israeli" soldiers, Wiam Amacha is released. Residents at his village are excitedly waiting for his arrival and pledge he won't practice terrorism anymore.

Security prisoner, Wiam Amacha from Buq'ata, Golan Heights, was released few minutes ago from Katzrin police station, and he's on his way home.

Amacha convicted of treason and espionage was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005. Amacha will have a big reception where friends, family members, and the village's public figures will be present. "After spending long years in jail, my son is finally coming home", said Amacha's father yesterday, and added "I am sure he won't return to terrorism".

The father said he visited his son two weeks ago in Gilboa prison, and felt that something is about to happen. "The mood of prisoners was optimistic and full of hope", said Amacha's father, and since then, rumors were spread in jail saying that a swap deal will be made soon.

In 2003, a security case was allowed to go public, where Amacha and 3 members of his village were accused of conspiring to abduct Israeli soldiers and transfer them to Hizbullah. Amacha was accused of helping his friend Hicham Shams in contacting Hamas. But security forces arrested all four members before putting their plan into action. Amacha and Shams were convicted of contacting and conspiring with a foreign agent to help the enemy in the time of war and to kidnap in the aim of murder and extortion.
 
The other two were convicted of providing cover and conspiracy to assist in the kidnapping. Amacha is the only one of the four who was released as a part of the deal. According to IPS (The "Israel" Prison Service), Amacha is supposed to be released in late 2025. Amacha is a relative of Maccabi Haifa football player, Wiam Amacha, who is prevented by team officials to be at the reception festivities tomorrow (today).
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80 Egyptian prisoners in exchange of Grapel

Channel 2 - Aaron Schneider

First phase of Shalit's swap has ended, and the second phase hits real close to home.

In Egypt, people are talking of another possible swap deal. As per reports of Arab media outlets, a prisoner swap is being negotiated between Egypt and "Israel", where the two "Israelis", Ouda Tarabin and Ilan Grapel , held captives in Egypt would be exchanged for 80 Egyptians imprisoned in "Israel".

In the context of the recent "Isreali"-Egyptian cooperation, which led to saving the "Israeli" Embassy personnel in Cairo, and to the execution of Shalit's deal yesterday, reports issued in Egypt say that talks will be held in the upcoming days in Cairo between the two parties to reach a deal. Daniel Garpel, Ilan Grapel's father, is eager to see his son soon.
 
New York Times mentioned yesterday, that Ilan Grapel, an American- student who also has "Israeli" citizenship was arrested in Egypt in June, charged there with spying for "Israel", is expected to be released in the coming days in exchange for scores of Egyptians held in "Israel". Representative Gary L. Ackerman, a New York Democrat, said for NYT reporter that he had been working closely on the Grapel case from the beginning. "We are extremely close in this complicated deal," he said. "We are going to be exceedingly happy to get our citizen back."

In Egypt, senior security sources said the final agreement between Egypt and Israel would occur only after the Shalit deal was completed, and "without any link to the deal". Senior Egyptian source, who refused to say his name, said that 80 Egyptians who had been arrested over the "Israeli" border would be exchanged for Mr. Grapel.
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Media Summary Execution for Shalit in Egypt

Maa'riv - Zeev Kam

Media and Communication schools have received a wonderful gift today. Television interview workshops, which take place in these schools, can now add the tape of the Egyptian TV interview with Gilad Shalit to their collection. The Egyptians weren't very interested in what Gilad was going to say. To them, it's all about their image of being victorious. An image so important to them, even if the interviewee is a skinny exhausted and frightened guy, they have no problem to add fuel to the fire of torture he went through the last five years.

At last, communication and media schools can show young students how a non-professional interview can be. It was a wonderful demonstration of how to exploit someone for interior (and exterior) propaganda, how to ask questions designed mainly to degrade a little more the interviewee and the State to which he belongs, how to translate the answers the interviewee as requested by the Egyptian producer no matter what the interviewee had mentioned. How do they look into the eyes of an interviewee when he is embarrassed, humiliated, shifting uneasily, pleading with his eyes for this nightmare to be over, and they just ignore all the stress he is going through.
 
Yet our media acted professionally, as indicated in the media convention, and decided in advance not to pounce on Gilad or pursue him with microphones. But on the other side, Gilad went through a media summary execution; he's a child being abused in front of the cameras. Even as we sent back to Gaza Palestinian terrorists in closed and air-conditioned buses, Gilad Shalit was dragged by the so-called "chief" of Hamas, Ahmed Jabari, which is about time to call him by his real name - slave trader.

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Swap Deal Analysis: Achievements and failures

"Israel" Hayom- Dan Margalit

Netanyahu has reaped significant political benefit, perhaps Ehud Barak did as well. On the Palestinian side, the division of the political rewards was more diverse.

Hamas strengthened itself in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and its flags were waved in defiance of Mahmoud Abbas orders. The deal has also allowed Hamas to merge with Israeli Arabs, for it was capable of forcing "Israel" to release prisoners with "Israeli" citizenship, who on their part viewed Hamas as their patron. Only in Gaza Hamas has failed. The masses came out to the rallies it organized in the strict. The leaders attempted to motivate them, but the masses remained calm.

Ismail Haniyah's shouts of "Allaho akbar" did not resonate, mostly because Netanyahu insisted on his refusal to release senior Hamas killers. He forced Hamas leadership in Gaza and Damascus to compromise, which disappointed their crowd. The Shalit prisoner swap has two disturbing possibilities: improved relationships between Egypt and Hamas, and the serious concern that Egypt will mediate to attain reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. These achievements and failures of the main parties on the "Israeli" and Palestinian sides have a certain value.

It is valid, but politics is a constant and ongoing battle, and any achievement is nothing but a good introduction for a next round conflict. The elements of the next round are vague. Mossad head Efraim Halevy has expressed his hope that Shalit's deal would lead to negotiations between "Israel" and Hamas on major issues. Israel has never agreed to do so, but already did it yesterday. However, Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyah, have not shown signs of flexibility. On the contrary, they said they are familiar with the "Israeli" spirit, and are eager to pull the trigger.
Let us not be lost in delusions.