The Hostage Negotiator: Gershon Baskin – the man who negotiated for Gilad Shalit’s release
In July 2006, days after Israeli solider Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, Gershon Baskin opened a back channel of negotiations with Hamas. For more than five years, Baskin negotiated with Hamas for Shalit’s release, until finally, on 18 October 2011, Gilad Shalit walked free back into Israel.
In exchange for the return of Gilad Shalit, Israel released 1,027 prisoners, one of whom was Yahya Sinwar the mastermind of the 7 October Hamas invasion of Israel. What price is too high to pay? Should Israel negotiate with terrorists? Is the doctrine of ‘no-one gets left behind’ a moral duty of every country? Gershon Baskin tells his remarkable story and addresses all of these questions.
