Panel Suggests Tougher Stance on Prisoner Swaps
A classified document recommending changes to the way the government negotiates for captures Israelis likely advocates for a tougher approach, based on comments by Defense Minister Ehud Barak upon receiving the report Thursday.
Referring to increasingly lopsided prisoner swaps, Barak said the report called for halting “the slippery slope in which we have gradually found ourselves.”
The document, released on Thursday, was drawn up by a panel convened in 2008 to examine creating new standards for negotiations for the release of Israeli captives. The possible need for such new standards came prominently to the fore last October when captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for over 1,000 Arab prisoners.
The panel, which was headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Meir Shamgar, had announced in advance that it would not submit recommendations until Shalit was released.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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