Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal representative to the prisoner swap passed messages to Hamas military chief through a link consisting of Gershon Baskin, the head of the Israel-Palestinian Center for Research and Information, and Ghazi Hamad, a former aide to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
The Israel-Hamas channel played a complementary role to the official mediators, as well as helping the sides contain and control two major flareups in fighting across the Israel-Gaza border this year, says Mr. Baskin.
The peace activist said the dialogue between himself and Mr. Hamad began immediately after the kidnapping but was ignored by Israel. During that period however, Mr. Baskin and and Mr. Hamad developed a mutual confidence.
"There was no trust between anyone. And when there is no trust, you can’t make progress" on deals like this, says Baskin. "We don’t agree. We’re political enemies … but I believed Ghazi, and Ghazi believed me."
Hamad declined to comment, but didn’t deny Mr. Baskin’s account. "I am not talking about this subject with anyone," he said. "Gershon has the fullest story."
His picture is everywhere. Over the last five years, Shalit's image was plastered on bumper stickers, T-shirts and billboards, including one in New York City. There were life-size cardboard cutouts of the soldier placed at protests and outside the Israeli prime minister's house to serve as constant reminders.
Now supporters who held cross-country marches to keep his captivity in the news and manned a protest tent in Jerusalem are struggling with how to give Shalit space and privacy, two things that Israel's close-knit culture of informality and camaraderie don't always provide.
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A protective backlash has already begun. Even before Shalit's release Tuesday, media outlets debated the ethics of how to handle the story without harassing him or his family or invading their privacy. The government helped negotiate a voluntary 10-day cooling-off period during which photographers and reporters are supposed to steer clear.
It's having mixed success. Israeli police tried to declare the Shalit's family home in Mitzpeh Hila off-limits, but that didn't stop hundreds of well-wishers and journalists from swarming the place Tuesday night. When Shalit took a walk Wednesday morning with his family, photographers were there to catch every step.
"For five and a half years, no one embraced you," wrote Maariv newspaper columnist Ben Caspit on Wednesday. "Now you may be smothered with embraces." (Link is in Hebrew)
Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking heat in the Israeli media for appearing to use Shalit's release as a photo op. On Tuesday, the prime minister –- with a cameraman in tow -- personally welcomed the soldier as he disembarked from an Israeli helicopter. When Shalit reunited with his father for the first time, Netanyahu was criticized for standing in the photo frame.
During a media briefing Tuesday night, Shalit's father said his son is not ready to face the glare of the public spotlight and asked Israelis to respect the family's privacy.
"It's difficult for him to be exposed to many people after being in isolation for such a long time," Noam Shalit said.
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