The hostage exchange deal, led by the political-security cabinet led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, is not the first prisoner and abductee release deal conducted in Israel. It was preceded by other prisoner deals, in which Israel released a large number of terrorists and murderers in exchange for Israeli prisoners, and in exchange for the bodies of IDF fighters.
Qatari Prime Minister: "Only tiny gaps on the way to a prisoner deal" // Reuters
Jibril deal
The most famous deal Israel made in the 80s was the deal for the release of hostages between Israel and Ahmed Jibril's terrorist organization. The deal was made in 1985. Israel received three IDF prisoners in the deal: Hezi Shai, Yosef Groff and Nissim Salem. In exchange for the prisoners, Israel released 1,150 terrorists, including the arch-terrorists: Ahmed Yassin, Jibril Rajoub, and Kozo Okamoto, and a number of dangerous terrorists who were sentenced to several life sentences in Israel for their harsh acts of terrorism.
Terrorist chief Ahmed Jibril, photo: AP
The Fink & Elsheikh Deal
Another Israeli deal was made in 1996. The deal included the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers Yosef Fink and Rahamim Alsheikh, who were abducted on 17 February 2, during a terrorist ambush. In exchange for the bodies of the abductees, Israel returned the bodies of 86 terrorists. At the same time, Hezbollah released 123 SLA members, and in return the SLA commander released 19 detainees from al-Khiam Prison and another 20 detainees as a gesture.
Release of Ahmad Yassin
The founder of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, was arrested and imprisoned again in Israel in 1989. Yassin, considered one of the most dangerous and influential prisoners in an Israeli prison, was released in September 1997 after the Mossad's failed assassination attempt on Khaled Mashaal in Jordan. The political crisis in Jordanian-Israeli relations following the assassination was resolved only after Yassin and some 70 other Palestinian prisoners were released.
Released twice. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Photo: AP
Body of Itamar Ilya
Another significant deal carried out in May 1998 included the return of the remains of a soldier of the flotilla, Itamar Ilya, who was killed in the flotilla disaster. In exchange for 65 Lebanese prisoners, and the bodies of 40 Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese soldiers. Among those who returned to Lebanon were the remains of Hadi Nasrallah, son of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
The Tanenbaum Deal
Another memorable deal Israel made was the release of kidnapped Israeli citizen Elhanan Tenenbaum. The deal took place in 2004, in which Israel released 450 terrorists, including Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani. Hezbollah, for its part, transferred Elhanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of the three IDF soldiers who were abducted in the abduction of soldiers at Har Dov - Adi Avitan, Bnei Avraham and Omar Su'ad.
Mustafa Dirani with Sheikh Obeid at the Tel Aviv District Court, September 9, 9, photo: None
Gladwasser and Regev deal
In 2008, another exchange was made between Israel and Hezbollah, in which the organization transferred the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, as well as a report on the fate of Ron Arad, in which the organization claimed that Arad was not alive. In exchange, Israel released Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar, four Hezbollah fighters captured in the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and the bodies of 199 Palestinian, Lebanese and Arabs seized by Israel over the past three decades.
NRG - Samir Kuntar assassinated tonight in Syria
The Shalit deal
In October 2011, a very large prisoner exchange deal took place between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization. This was the Shalit deal, in which Armored Corps soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas, was released. In return for his return, Israel released 1,027 prisoners, following a preliminary deal in which 20 female terrorists were released in exchange for a video showing the soldier.
Netanyahu: "There were difficult things in the Shalit deal" // GPO
Ron Arad
The most famous Israeli prisoner who was not released from captivity, and whose fate is also unknown, is Air Force navigator Ron Arad, who was captured by the Amal organization in October 1986. Arad was also apparently alive when his captor, Mustafa Dirani, transferred his allegiance to Iran. Dirani carried out the defection in 1988. Since then, Arad's traces have been lost, and the fog surrounding him and his condition has deepened, despite enormous efforts Israel has invested in searching for him.
Over the years, Israel has kidnapped Hezbollah members and interrogated senior Iranian officials who defected to the West, in order to understand what called the captured navigator and whether he is alive, or alternatively, where he is buried. In retrospect, despite many rumors that Arad was still alive, opinions in Israel prevailed that at least since 1997 he was definitely not alive. Nonetheless, the secret search for Ron Arad continued, and included a series of deals with Hezbollah in which the organization handed over his personal rifle, apparently a diary he wrote in captivity, two photographs showing him wounded, and a Hezbollah report describing the people who came into contact with him during the first two years of his captivity. The report stated that Arad was not alive. However, in a number of cases, bone samples were transferred to Israel for genetic testing, and their affiliation with bronze was revoked.
Combat Navigator Ron Arad, Photo: Facebook Air Force
Later, in 2016, new testimony was published from Lebanon, according to which Arad was killed in 1988, about two years after his capture. However, intelligence sources revealed that they believe there is evidence that he lived until 1997. In practice, today in Israel it is certain that the navigator is not alive, but intelligence operations are constantly being carried out in order to find his grave and bring him to Israel's grave.
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