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Does an Israeli official’s resignation reveal anything about a prisoner exchange?

October 27, 2022 at 2:21 pm

Yaron Blum, a senior Shin Bet security consultant. [YouTube]

According to Yedioth Ahronoth correspondent Itamar Eichner, analysts in Israel suggest that the occupation state’s Coordinator for Captives and the Missing, Yaron Blum, retired from his job because he wasn’t making progress in contact with Hamas. Eichner added that there was also tension between him and the family of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who filed a private complaint against him to the state comptroller claiming that he has no interest in seeing the captive soldiers returned.

Blum believes that he has done all he can after five years, said the Israeli newspaper, and added that we all need to know when to stop. He will step down from his role at the end of this month.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid, meanwhile, has appointed his military secretary, General Avi Gil, in Blum’s place. What could this mean for a possible prisoner exchange deal?

Although I feel that the Yedioth Ahronoth report does not provide enough information to allow for a detailed analysis, I think that Blum was certainly an obstacle to any reasonable deal. His positions were well-known and uncompromising against any agreement. His retirement is a blessing.

READ: Israel chief negotiator in Lebanon maritime border talks resigns

Furthermore, Blum’s announcement a week before the official end of his contract and the swift appointment of his replacement by Lapid may suggest the latter’s dissatisfaction with his performance, at least in the past few months. Lapid had asked specialists to submit new proposals to him, and it seems that Blum did not succeed or did not want to succeed in this.

The appointment of a senior army officer to this position is most likely a good sign, as generals usually support deals, and it seems that Lapid also does. This is what the Palestinian resistance groups probably understand.

Nevertheless, in terms if the prospects for a prisoner exchange deal, there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Such ambiguity is most likely beneficial to the political leadership in Israel. This was confirmed by Colonel Moshe Tal, the representative of the Chief of Staff who resigned from Blum’s department about a year ago.

This article first appeared in Arabic in the Palestinian Information Centre on 26 October 2022

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.