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Israel's Prisoner's Dilemma

(Free Press) Matti Friedman - The mainstream Israeli position is that the government must make every reasonable effort to save the lives of captives, whether that means military operations if possible, or freeing jailed terrorists in exchange for hostages if necessary. Opponents of the deal, even if they're tortured by the suffering of their fellow citizens in brutal conditions in tunnels under Gaza, see the deal as a form of surrender that rewards the tactic of hostage-taking and invites future attacks, saving people in the present while sacrificing people in the future. In my experience, most people actually hold parts of both positions, but when forced to choose, they tend to choose the first. This is a small country where people know each other, and one negotiator remarked that logical considerations were effective "until a mother faints on your desk." Israelis face the current deal with hope that at least some of the familiar faces from the hostage posters will finally return to their families after 15 months of horror, and also with relief at a pause in the Gaza fighting. But the regional war that began on October 7, 2023, isn't over, and neither is the terrible dilemma that faces Israel every time hostages fall into enemy hands. The writer was an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem between 2006 and 2011.
2025-01-21 00:00:00
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