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Lieberman Says Israel Will Not Repeat Mistake of ‘Schalit Deal’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Reuters
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Lieberman Says Israel Will Not Repeat Mistake of ‘Schalit Deal’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Reuters

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated on Sunday that Israel will not repeat the “mistake” of freeing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for any Israeli citizen, such as the 2011 Gilad Schalit swap.

After 5 years of being held captive, Israeli soldier Shalit was exchanged for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Addressing the resignation of Col. (res.) Lior Lotan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former coordinator on the issue of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, Lieberman referred to the 2011 deal which released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for setting free Schalit, who was held captive by Hamas for five years.

Lotan, who was working without remuneration, resigned on Thursday after three years in the position. He was appointed in 2014, replacing David Meidan who played a key role in formulating the prisoner exchange deal which led to Schalit’s release. 

Israel says it lost two soldiers during the last war in the Gaza Strip, but they were killed, and now are bodies held by Hamas.

The Defense Minister stated that Israel “will not repeat the mistake of the Schalit deal, which freed 1,027 terrorists, including murderers and their agents, including Mahmoud Qawasmeh, who was released to the Gaza Strip and financed the abduction of three youths, and Yahya Sanwar, who leads Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”

Qawasme is accused by Israeli forces to having helped fund the June 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and Sinwar, who was elected as Hamas leader in Gaza in February, is regarded by Israeli security officials as one of the most uncompromising leaders of the movement.

Lieberman criticized that seven Israelis have been murdered by Palestinians released in the deal and 202 have since been rearrested for involvement in terrorism, of whom 111 are still in Israeli prisons.

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Arab World

UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met in Damascus on Saturday with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the restoration of relations after 14 years of tension during Syria's conflict and Assad family rule.

Syria has been improving relations with Western countries following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December in an offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

Al-Sharaa’s office said Lammy and the president discussed mutual relations and ways of boosting cooperation and the latest regional and international developments. Lammy later met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, state media reported.

A statement issued by Britain's foreign office said the visit showed London's commitment to support Syria as the new government seeks to rebuild the country's economy, deliver an inclusive political transition and forge a path to justice for the victims of the Assad government.

It added that there will be new UK funding to assist with the removal of Assad-era chemical weapons and provide urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, to bolster UK and Middle East security and tackle irregular migration. The statement said the British government wants to ensure that the ISIS group's territorial defeat “endures, and they can never resurge.”

ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it planned attacks worldwide. It was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled.

The statement said Britain's support for Syria is set to continue, with the additional 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) package announced Saturday. It will provide urgent humanitarian aid to Syrians, support Syria’s longer-term recovery through education and livelihoods, and support countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.

This handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on July 5, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the presidential palace in Baabda. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

In April, the British government lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after Assad's ouster. Weeks earlier, the UK had dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending many American economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa.

Syria’s new leaders have been struggling to rebuild the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war that has killed half a million people. In recent months, al-Sharaa visited oil-rich regional countries and France in May in his first visit to the Europe Union.

Also on Saturday, Lammy met in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and they discussed the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border following the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

A statement issued by Aoun's office, quoted the Lebanese leader as telling Lammy that Beirut plans to raise the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel to 10,000. Aoun added that the only armed sides on the Lebanese side of the border will be Lebanon's national army and UN peacekeepers.