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JERUSALEM — Just off the bus in Gaza after six years in an Israeli prison, one of hundreds traded to Hamas for an Israeli soldier, Wafa al-Bass declared her next goal: abduct more Israeli soldiers. Others who returned said they could not feel satisfaction until the thousands of remaining Palestinian prisoners were freed. And Israelis, at first thrilled at the sight of their liberated soldier, were angered by how he looked — frail, wan and underfed. It was a day when many things went right. Promises were kept, an agreement between sworn enemies was implemented, people wept with joy. The military chief of Hamas, Ahmed al-Jabari,longchamp outlet one of the most wanted and despised men in Israel, was seen on television leading the freed Israeli, Sgt. First Class Gilad Shalit, from Gaza to liberty. Some said all this should improve chances for peacemaking and reconciliation. But it was almost immediately clear the prisoner swap was instead a source of acrimony. “I would like to believe that this will permit the taking up again of discussions” between Israel and the Palestinians, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said. He said the prisoner swap showed that “even in the most difficult moments there can be hope.” That was not the mood among the great majority of participants. Each side accused the other of mistreating its prisoners. Sergeant Shalit, who was denied Red Cross visits during his imprisonment, was pushed into an uncomfortable interview on Egyptian television before being handed over to Israel, and Israelis watched his measured responses and labored breathing with fury. Hamas officials said their members had been subject in Israeli prisons to “torture, compulsion and revenge.” Israelis whose loved ones were killed by some of those released said the deal was justice undone and capitulation to a sworn enemy. Hamas quickly called for its members to capture more Israeli soldiers in order to free the remaining 5,000 or so Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, a Hamas rival, also spoke of the vital need to free the remaining prisoners. He made that point in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he welcomed about 100 freed prisoners in a citywide celebration. And though he has long focused on popular, nonviolent struggle, he is facing pressure to take a harder line as Hamas’s accomplishments seem more tangible than his bid to win Palestinian statehood through the United Nations.
