Did Israel make a ‘bargain with the devil’

Recommendable! Here is a critical take on a bad deal! I previously blogged here about it.

I had almost forgotten that Western countries vowed a long time ago not to negotiate with hostage taking terrorists. Well, that once touted tough policy apparently is totally out of the window!

The interviewee also points to a previous, similar even more grave mistake by Benjamin Netanyahu! The release of Gilad Shalit!

"... A second big issue is the question of precedent. What kind of precedent are they setting by being willing to negotiate? For many years, the United States government took the position that it would not negotiate with terrorists to try to release kidnap victims. And there was a lot of tension [between the government and victims’ families]. The stated policy was often informally violated by the U.S. government, that is, they sometimes did participate. And in fact, it turns out that European countries were negotiating with various — often Islamic — terrorist groups in the last decade, were paying money to get people released. The United States wasn’t and it changed its formal policy. ...

You wrote an op-ed critical of the decision in 2011 by an earlier Netanyahu government to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and held hostage in Gaza. What made you call that a “crazy deal” and what might be different about the current situation?

There were lots of things wrong with that deal. First, the price was absurdly high. Second, it set a terrible precedent. And third, as it turns out, that deal strengthened Hamas and weakened the Palestinian Authority, because the Israeli government was negotiating with Hamas, who made sure the Palestinian Authority would get no credit. And comparatively few of the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners were released. And finally, it turns out of course, that among those released are at least some who now are apparently leaders of Hamas. ..."

Why Israel had no choice but to make a ‘bargain with the devil’ - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Robert Mnookin directs the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School.