The deal to secure the return of the young Israeli woman who had crossed the border into Syria earlier this week was consummated on Thursday night but could have easily ended differently. One doesn't need a wild imagination to understand what would have happened if she had fallen into the hands of slightly less disciplined elements of the Syrian army, some of which are stationed along the frontier.
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From the moment she was detained and held by Syrian authorities, her situation was relatively good in comparison to a Syrian prison. The swiftly launched negotiations also ensured no harm would come to her, certainly not when senior Russian officials were in the picture. Their involvement also helped keep the price of her release reasonable: ultimately, two Syrian shepherds who had crossed into Israel on the Golan Heights some two weeks ago.
After landing in Israel, the young woman was expected to undergo a brief interrogation aimed at shedding light on the circumstances surrounding her actions and how she was able to cross the border. Based on what we know, this wasn't her first attempt to cross the border, but her success this time has raised alarms as it exposes a breach in the border defenses.
During the previous decade, a sophisticated security fence was built along the Israeli-Syrian border, after hundreds of Palestinians living in refugee camps in Syria managed to enter Israel at the outset of the Syrian civil war in 2011. The new fence was supposed to be an impenetrable obstacle, which indeed it has been, even in the case of the young Israel woman: She didn't breach the fence, rather crossed into Syria in a place it doesn't exist. This means the IDF must now examine whether upgrades to the barrier are needed, and at the same time try to understand how IDF spotters and radar in the sector failed to notice her.
Meanwhile, although the Israeli public has been focused on the Damascus-Moscow-Jerusalem axis, awaiting the young woman's return home, the collective heart was in Gaza. For six and a half years now, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed into Gaza a year later, have languished in captivity there. Both of these men were less lucky: Israel was unable to engage in talks with Hamas discreetly and failed to bring them home quickly.
The opposite happened: Hamas viewed their capture as a potential bonanza and tried maximizing the cost of their return. The terrorist group asked for the moon and sky – some of the very worst security prisoners in Israeli jails. The efforts to convince the group this was a humanitarian issue fell short; Hamas made it clear it would return them – along with the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge – only as part of a broad and far more expensive deal.
Gaza is not Syria and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is not Bashar Assad, but the lesson to be learned is the same: To succeed in making such deals, speed is of the essence. Every day that passes, the sides become more entrenched in their positions, making it much more difficult to reach an agreement. This applies to citizens as well as to soldiers. Israel lost Ron Arad because it dragged its feet, and could have freed Gilad Schalit years sooner at a price similar to the one it ultimately paid.
And a final word on discretion: The cabinet meeting that secretly convened was appropriate because the law says the cabinet must approve any prisoner exchange deal. But the chatter from many of the ministers – which led to a wave of baseless rumors – is bewildering and disconcerting every time anew. With all due respect to election season and the desire to boast to friends, some things are more important.
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