Apparently it is not going to be the second Ron Arad saga as many had believed it would be. Israel and Hamas have finally signed an agreement in which more than 1000 prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for Gilad Shalit, 450 prisoners will be released first and then after his release another 577 prisoners will be freed – all 1000 were convicted and charged of committing acts of terrorism against Israel.
The prisoners who are about to be released are members of various organisations, they are not exclusively Hamas affiliates.  Among them are woman and children, including Amna Muna who was involved in the kidnap and murder of the 16 year old boy Ofir Rahum, as well as Ahlam Tamimi who drove a suicide bomber to a restaurant in central Jerusalem were he blew himself up, killing 15 and injuring 132.
However, Israel denies releasing Marwan Barghouti, the former head of the Tanzim in the West Bank who has been sentenced to 5 life terms and is considered by many to be the next Palestinian leader.  In addition other “heavy” prisoner, such as Abdulla Barghouti one of the military heads of Hamas as well as Ahmad Saadat one of the murderers of the Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi , are not going to be released  either, according to Israeli officials,  despite the Arab and international media reports.
It took more than five years, but only the latest events in the region have now allowed it to happen. Israel and Hamas both realised this window of opportunity had to be used, as there is no longer any certainty of Egypt’s further ability to mediate, how Syria will choose to  influence matters  or even Turkey’s willingness to contribute. Due to these outside aspects and also other internal issues related to Hamas, both sides found themselves in a more flexible position and were able to compromise on details which were previously had been very non-negotiable.  
In Israel the mood is of happiness mixed with sadness and fear. What will the consequences of allowing so many advocates of violence and death to be free again? Are they going to take us back to the days of fear and insecurity in Israel? Or maybe things have changed since then?
Things have changed, everything has changed in the region and I truly hope and believe that this will only take as forward to better and different kind of exchange between both sides.

Contract article -

The current revolutionary atmosphere in the Middle East is encouraging and terrifying at the same time.

As an Israeli, who is surrounded by the events, I can not ignore the paranoid thoughts that Israel is likely to be the scapegoat for desperate Arab leaders and extremists who will find it useful to direct the blame for their frantic situation on their Zionist neighbour.

But as a researcher who has studied the culture and profile of the people in the area I am satisfied with the possibility that change might bring some new thoughts and progress to dominated nations that were denied freedom of expression and rights for decades.             

Furthermore, I hope that this breeze of transformation will have some effect on the regions attitude towards Israel and its right to exist, while also opening up communication channels and a willingness to cooperate.

Working in London as a PhD student, and moreover as an Atkin fellow at ICSR, has allowed me to meet and to collaborate with Arabs and Muslims and to understand the conflict from a wider perspective. I realise the complexity of the situation but believe that without freedom of thoughts and actions and the ability to receive wide and diverse information there will be no progress and therefore, especially at this time, the outcomes of revolutions are more likely to be positive ones and I definitely hope that it will be this time.

Contract article -