By: Bassam Khalil.
(Exclusively for al-Zaytouna Centre).
Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations published an academic paper entitled “Negotiation Strategies and the Role of Mediators in Prisoner Exchange Agreements between Palestinian Resistance Movements and Israel (2007–2025),” by Bassam Khalil. The paper examines the negotiation strategies employed by both the negotiating parties and mediators in the prisoner exchange agreements between Palestinian resistance movements and Israel from 2007 to 2025. It further explores the factors shaping the trajectory and outcomes of these negotiations, in addition to their concomitant impacts on internal dynamics within both parties, as well as on regional and international levels.
The negotiation strategies employed in the two operations differed according to regional conditions and, subsequently, developments on the ground. Whereas the circumstances during the Shalit negotiations tended to favor the Palestinian resistance factions, the situation was markedly reversed during the Operation al-Aqsa Flood negotiations, particularly in their final stages.
The study concludes that Israel, consistent with its established negotiating behavior, pursued a maneuvering strategy in the talks. Its objective was not to reach a resolution, but rather to buy time and secure tangible gains. In doing so, it weakened its opponent, compelled further concessions, and lowered expectations and aspirations. To this end, Israel employed a range of negotiating policies and tactics. Notably, in the most recent negotiations, particularly following its breach of the truce, substantial support from a third party, ostensibly serving as mediator, guarantor and sponsor, namely the United States, altered Israel’s approach. It shifted from prolonging negotiations to actively undermining and terminating the process, either through coordination with the US sponsor to sabotage the talks or by leveraging them against the Palestinian negotiating team, a historical precedent in modern diplomacy. These developments indicate that Israel was not genuinely invested in the success of the negotiation process, particularly given the absence of meaningful pressure on it.
In contrast, the Palestinian resistance employed a range of negotiating strategies that evolved in response to shifting circumstances, whether the regional changes prevailing during the Shalit negotiations or the pressures exerted by Israel’s military capabilities during the two-year Operation al-Aqsa Flood negotiations.
This paper is published as part of the Academic Papers series issued by Al-Zaytouna Centre, which has released over 180 research papers to date.
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