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As David Meidan, the government’s chief negotiator on the Gilad Schalit case, went to Cairo on Saturday night to finalize the deal to bring the kidnapped soldier home on Tuesday, the army went on high alert, fearing terrorists or right-wing Israeli groups might try to torpedo the swap.
The IDF Southern Command is concerned terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip that were not part of the agreement – such as Islamic Jihad – will increase rocket attacks against Israel in the coming days to derail the deal.
And in the Central Command, the IDF is concerned that right-wing extremists might take steps to stop the convoy of buses carrying the prisoners from Ketziot Prison in the South, where they will be gathered before they are freed, from reaching their final destinations.
Meidan is expected to finalize details of the release during his meetings in Cairo. Defense officials said Schalit will be taken across Gaza’s southwestern border into Egypt, likely via the Rafah crossing, where he will be met by Egyptian security officials and a small Israeli delegation to verify his identity and ensure he is healthy. There is a possibility that he will be transferred directly to Israel.
He will then be taken by plane to an IDF base while groups of Palestinian prisoners are transferred from Ketziot to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Egypt and countries abroad.
At the IDF base, Schalit will meet his family and undergo more comprehensive medical exams. From there he is expected to be flown to the Tel Nof Air Force Base near Rehovot for a low key reception where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will then be flown by helicopter to his home in Mitzpe Hila in the Upper Galilee.