(no subject)

So, months back, a Palestinian militant group made a raid into Israeli territory, and captured an Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit. Hamas has offered to do a prisoner exchange -- 1400 jailed Palestinians for Cpl Schalit.

Now, as Hamas doesn't recognize the legitimacy of Israel, and Israel doesn't recognize the legitimacy of Hamas, they have to go through Egypt for the negotiations, but, whatever. Off the record, Israeli officials have said that Hamas is not going to get all 1400 prisoners: the 450 or so who are in for direct participation in attacks which have killed civilians are definitely not going to be freed, and the best that Hamas can hope for is a few hundred prisoners.

Is this really a precedent that helps either side: that one Israeli life is worth several hundred, or even fourteen hundred, Palestinian lives? Is that what Hamas is saying -- that one Israeli soldier is worth fourteen hundred of their people?

I mean . . . if they were offering a one-on-one prisoner exchange, that would make sense. To make it work, they'd both have to acknowledge each other's existence, and acknowledge that they were two sovereign states at war with one another, and allow a prisoner-of-war exchange between two captured soldiers. That would be fair and reasonable.

But fourteen hundred to one? Do they really rate their own people that little? Do the Israelis?

To me, it seems deeply troubling that Israel would consider trading TWO Palestinians for an Israeli -- because that implies that they value Israeli lives higher than Palestinian lives, and not merely on the pragmatic basis that, "Well, our job is to protect our own people, more than to protect other people", but as a genuine valuation.

And it seems even more troubling that Hamas feels the same way.