World leaders voiced hope Tuesday that the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after more than five years in Hamas captivity would boost the Middle East peace process and ease regional tensions. Elation was interspersed with relief in France at the release of Shalit, a dual French-Israeli national, whose freedom served to trigger the first releases of some 1,027 Palestinian prisoners being freed under an accord. President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the 24-year-old’s release as “a huge relief for France” and said Shalit, captured by Gaza-based Palestinian militants in 2006, would “soon” travel to France. “I hope that this will allow talks to resume” between Israelis and Palestinians, Sarkozy said, voicing hope “that there are also detainees (in Israel) from the West Bank that could return to the West Bank.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was among those who praised the Egyptian government for its role in mediating an agreement under which more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners will be freed. And Turkey, which, like Egypt, has also seen its ties with Israel come under severe strain recently, said it had been a major player in the exchange and helped ensure that Shalit emerged alive from his ordeal.
Britain’s PM David Cameron meanwhile praised his Israeli counterpart for agreeing to the deal under which some convicted killers are to walk free after serving only a fraction of their sentences.
Cameron said in a statement “I…hope this prisoner exchange will bring peace a step closer. We remain strongly committed to the cause of peace in the Middle East … We will continue to work for direct negotiations to achieve that end.” Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said he hoped the release of Shalit would “open a new chapter of hope for peace in the Middle East”. “The prisoners’ exchange agreement … can be read as a message of peace and can serve to encourage a resumption of negotiations,” he added in reference to the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. There were similar words from Merkel’s camp, with Egypt singled out for praise for its “crucial (role) in the past months.”
“It is to be hoped that Israel and Egypt’s successful collaboration in this regard will lead to a return to good-neighbourly relations between the two countries after the period of recent tensions,” her spokesman Steffan Seibert said. Along with Jordan, Egypt is one of only two Arab neighbours who have diplomatic relations with Israel. However those ties have been severely strained in recent weeks, with a mob attacking the Israeli embassy in Cairo in retaliation for the killing of six border policemen in August. Turkey, once the Jewish state’s closest friend in the Muslim world, has frozen some of its ties with its one-time ally since Israeli forces last year killed nine Turks in a raid on a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. However, Turkey’s deputy prime minister said he hoped the release would lead to an end to bloodshed. “All our hope is silencing the weapons, stopping the blood and (making) Palestine… a more free, independent and secure state within its own borders.”
Meanwhile Iran, Israel’s arch enemy, welcomed the mass release of Palestinian prisoners. “Iran congratulates the Palestinian nation on the release of prisoners held captive by the illegitimate Zionist regime,” said foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast. The Palestinian Authority last week applauded France’s efforts to obtain Shalit’s release and said Paris should also help secure the release of French-Palestinian Salah Hamouri who has been jailed by Israel since 2005. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged France to intervene on behalf of Hamouri, 26, who was arrested over allegations that he was plotting to assassinate a rabbi, a charge that he denies.
