It’s difficult for the outside world to understand the huge significance that Gilad
Shalit’s release, this morning, has for Israel. A soldier captured by Hamas five years ago, he has become a huge cause célèbre — to the extent that black cabs in London were
even commissioned with his picture on it. Books that he wrote aged 11 were printed and bought in their thousands by
Israelis. He was wanted back so badly that Israel has agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, among them hardcore terrorists. Events stemming from the Arab Spring have made both sides eager
to do a deal, which experts say might contribute — even if in a tiny way — towards that ever-elusive peace settlement.
Shalit is the first Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since 1994, and has become a household name and a symbolic figure in his homeland.
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