Will Shalit’s freedom end the siege on Gaza?.

Written by: Ola Attallah.. Experts and political analysts believed that the Palestinian prisoner exchange agreement and the freedom of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will perhaps bring about an end to the siege imposed on Gaza for the past five consecutive years.  They stated in a statement to “Islam Online” on Sunday October 16th that following the release of Shalit, Israel will no longer have justification to maintain the siege and crossing closures on Gaza.

Following the capture of Gilad Shalit in 2006 by Hamas, Israel imposed a suffocating siege on Gaza, closing all boarders leading to the city; an action that brought about a humanitarian crisis for the Gazan people.

Recently, Hamas and Israel reached an agreement on Tuesday October 10th to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of Gilad Shalit, who was incarcerated by Hamas for the past five years.

No excuse from this day onwards

Hani al-Masri, Palestinian Journalist and Political Analyst, stated that the agreement could have included the lifting of the blockade on Gaza, and that the swap could have included undisclosed terms.  He added: “it seems that the exchange agreement could end the siege on Gaza, especially since the incarceration of the Israeli soldier served as justification for the occupation forces and some international parties to tighten their grip on Gaza and its inhabitants.”

Al-Masri predicted that the lifting of the siege could possibly be gradual and undisclosed to the media, adding, “Egypt could possibly provided Gaza with electricity, and Israel could possibly open the crossings…all these things are possible and could be realistically implemented as part of the undisclosed terms.”

Agreeing with the previous statements, Talal Okal, Palestinian Writer and Political Analyst, expressed his belief that the Shalit swap included a number of secret terms, amongst which is the possibility of lifting the siege.  “Israel and the US are planning to wage an attack on Iran.  Therefore, it would be necessary to settle the situations with Gaza through lifting the siege and opening the crossings,” he asserted.

“The world used to view Hamas as a terrorist organization holding an Israeli soldier captive.  Now, and following his release, all these international arguments and excuses will no longer be valid.”

Okal also urged Hamas to improve situations further by finalizing the reconciliation agreement. “The implementation of the reconciliation immediately will push for the lift of the siege completely—then the Palestinians could fully rejoice over a great accomplishment,” he stated.

Political Analyst Mukhaimer Abu Saada asserted that the coming days would answer the query of whether or not the siege would end, affirming that Hamas will strive to lift the siege, especially now that the Israeli occupation forces have no excuse to maintain it.

On his part, Prime Minister of the Palestinian ousted government Ismail Haniyeh stated that Israel must lift the siege imposed on Gaza following the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

He asserted during the last Friday sermon that the “excuse Israel was using before the international community to maintain the siege is now over.  Our expectation, God willing, is that the finalization of the swap agreement would also bring about the end of the siege”.

Calls to lift the siege

Humanitarian and rights organizations urged Israel during the past few days to lift the siege following the finalization of the exchange agreement, where the spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Adnan Abu Hasneh, called upon Israel to reconsider the siege policy it is inflicting on Gaza following the swap.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights assured that the siege imposed on Gaza since 2006 was a direct result of the military operation waged by the resistance movement; the same operation that resulted in the capture of Gilad Shalit.

Therefore, the Center demanded of Israel to lift the siege and their collective punishment tactic immediately now that Shalit is released.

Source: Islamonline.net

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