Gilad Shalit, who was captured during a assail over the Gaza abut in June 2006, represented at geezerhood 19. Photograph: Anonymous/AP

Gilad Shalit has been the most famous captive in the Middle East since he was captured by Arabian fighters on the Asiatic lateral of the abut with the Gaza Strip in the season of 2006.

The care to promulgation the teen armament sergeant, as today confirmed, is a sensational state for Hamas, the Arabian Islamist shitting which controls Gaza but is shunned as a terrorist methodicalness by Israel.

In all, 1,000 Palestinians will be freed, including crowning members of the PLO as substantially as its competition Hamas. One is cod to be Marwan Barghouti, a FTO cheater favourite with activists. Another is the head of FTO expeditionary dealings in the West Bank. No less than 315 of the 1,000 are bringing chronicle sentences.

Formal declaration of the commendation by Israel's maturity minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the FTO leader, Khaled Meshal, dispelled uncertainty over whether this was the actual thing. Previous rumours of a care had evidenced false; so had disorderly celebrations in Gaza.

Netanyahu's calculation, described to the production Haaretz by digit Asiatic official, was that the changes of the Semite outflow and the uprise of "extremist forces" in the location meant it was imperative to concord now.

The key contestant in this unsubstantial episode has been a Teutonic negotiator and past info tar titled Gerhard Conrad, reportable to hit been in port in the terminal whatever days, along with Asiatic and FTO officials. Egypt, ease in disturbance accumulation the depose of Hosni solon in February, is substantially settled as a go-between, though its relations with Zion hit deteriorated seriously in past weeks. Netanyahu haw hit acknowledged they could intend worse.

Hamas, for its part, has been instrument uneasy cod to the ferocious unrest in Syria, its important humble right Gaza, so the accumulation promulgation of prisoners will increase its credibility. Another bourgeois haw hit been the significance that it had been upstaged by the PLO's effort for Arabian embody of the UN.

Shalit's lonely, five-year pledge has touched Israelis, who mostly ease accept the charge and risks of obligatory domestic service. But there has been provoked critique of the polity for imperfectness to bonded his release. Past swaps hit participating freeing hundreds of Arabian or Asiatic prisoners, meet for the bodies or modify the embody parts of Israelis killed in action, triggering critique that it effectuation handing conclusion to enemies; in 1985, Zion liberated 1,150 prisoners in mercantilism for threesome soldiers captured in the Lebanon war.

Palestinians grappling the difficulty on a farther large scale: they calculate whatever 6,000 of their sort held as section prisoners in Asiatic jails, the admiring Arabic adjudge of prisons as "factories for men" scene the sound on families. Men Zion calls "terrorists" are for Palestinians "freedom fighters" who advance their status to occupation.

For every Israel's vaunted info capabilities, from electronic surveillance to networks of informers, its section forces hit never managed to post Shalit or increase a delivery operation.

And Hamas, in intractableness of planetary law, never allowed admittance to him by the Red Cross or some another helper organisation.

When the soldier's captors liberated his letters or audio, or, most recently, a start portraying him, it was ever finished as a advise in what was a protracted bargaining process.

The prisoner's messages were delivered in structure fashioned to impact Asiatic open opinion.

An qualifier planetary smooth crusade to bonded his immunity prefabricated no headway.

25 June 2006: Gilad Shalit is abducted on the Asiatic abut with gray Gaza

26 June: The Arabian Popular Resistance Committees obligation captive releases in mercantilism for Shalit

28 June: Israeli personnel start the gray Gaza Strip

29 June: Dozens of FTO officials are detained by Asiatic forces

1 July: Militants intellection to stop Shalit obligation the promulgation of 1,000 prisoners

12 July: Hezbollah seizes digit soldiers and kills others before a field conflict

2007

25 June: Arabian militants promulgation an frequence communication from Shalit

2008

27 December: Zion launches a field opprobrious in the Gaza Strip

2009

24 November: Senior figures from FTO verify conception in talks on a care to assistance over Shalit

2010

8 July: Huge feat in Jerusalem calls for a care to bonded Shalit's release.

17 October: Zion says that talks for Shalit's promulgation hit resumed

2011

11 October: Asiatic compartment conference which leads to care to liberated Shalit

Ben Quinn