In the release of Gilad Shalit Egypt played a pivitol role in his release. When he was released after his five years in captivity, he was brought through Egypt from Palestine before being delivered to Israel and the family who had not heard from him in five years.
Everything was good, Shalit's freedom was traded for the freedom of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Gaza may have seen Israel as one half of a fool's bargin, but it was done none the less. It seemed like the terms of the Israeli/Palestinian conflit would be mended for a short time. And then Egypt made a huge mistake.
Egyptian officials coerced Shalit into an interview with Egyptian journalists. The problem with this isn't that they wanted to interview him, it's the timing and the questions. They interviewed him minutes after Hammas released him with Hammas standing around him, armed. They interviewed a man, who was denied medical visits from the Red Cross and whose letters and DVDs were only given to his family and to Israel for 20 female prisoners. They asked him questions like why didn't he allow for interviews while he was in prison, ignoring the fact that his captors wouldn't allow for him to have contact with the outside world. They then asked, since he knew what it was like to be in captivity, would he campaign for the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails.
Ignoring the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict, ethically this is beyond wrong. He hadn't talked to his family, seen his home or really gotten out of captivity. For them to go and feel like part of their right of brokering the deal for his freedom is an interview with him with in minutes of being released with his captors around him is wrong. You don't broker deals for prisoners for interviews where you ask them insensitive questions, you do it because somebody needs to be saved. I'm not 100% of the time Israeli supporter, but I understand their anger and outrage at this line of questioning.
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