Gilad Shalit the ‘Goliath’

The ubiquitous picture of the Israeli prisoner, Gilad Shalit, with the skewed media coverage creates the impression that he is the central subject in this episode of exchanging prisoners, and everything else is periphery. Hence, everyone knows the name, the face and the story of this Israeli soldier, who has family and friends, whereas the Palestinians remain nameless and faceless, as if they are not human.

One Israel soldier for a thousand Palestinians, as if the timid looking Gilad is a modern day Goliath, balanced by the many Palestinians who are supposed to be physically weaker like David. The obvious question is: why has Israel agreed to this asymmetrical exchange of prisoners; for sure it does not perceive Gilad Shalit as a modern day Goliath who is worth a thousand Palestinians.