Russia brokered an unusual prisoner exchange that saw Syria release an Israeli woman who crossed the country on Thursday, Israeli officials said.
The big picture: The two weeks leading up to the deal involved a liaison between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s capture of two Syrian pastors as a bargaining chip and a Syrian prisoner’s refusal to leave prison as part of of the agreement.
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The background story: An Israeli woman in her 20s crossed to Syria two weeks ago through the Golan Heights, entered a village and started talking to the local population.
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Apparently, someone alerted the Syrian military that an Israeli woman had entered the village because she was arrested and taken for questioning by Syrian intelligence officers.
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Syrians initially suspected she was a spy, as were Israeli officials who learned that an Israeli woman had been captured. But it soon became clear that she was a civilian.
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Syrians have notified Russian forces in Syria, who have informed Israelis of the whole situation. At that point, the Israelis made it clear that they saw this as a humanitarian issue and asked the Russians to facilitate an agreement.
Syrians quickly agreed to the idea of a prisoner exchange, but the process dragged on for two weeks due to a series of complications.
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The Russians initially tried to expand discussions, asking Israel to restrict its air strikes in Syria, claiming that they made it difficult to transport humanitarian aid. In addition to Netanyahu’s appeal to Putin, the Israeli defense and foreign ministers also spoke to their Russian colleagues.
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An agreement was finally reached: Israel would free two Syrians convicted of terrorism-related crimes and provide COVID-19 aid to Syria.
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On Wednesday, Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat traveled to Moscow, where the Israeli had already been taken. An Israeli doctor considered her in good health and ready to travel.
But then there was an obstacle. One of the prisoners said that he would rather stay in an Israeli prison for the 14 years he was missing from his term than be deported to Syria, Israeli officials said.
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However, Israeli soldiers had already been sent to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in search of exchange coins. They expected two pastors to cross into an Israeli enclave and capture them.
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Syria eventually agreed to exchange Israeli women for pastors. They were released on Thursday, and a jet left Israel to bring the woman home.
Behind the scenes: The incident has been kept under a strict order of silence for the past two weeks due to concerns that any press reports could sabotage the deal.
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On Tuesday, the Israeli Cabinet met urgently under a veil of secrecy. The ministers themselves did not know what it was about until they arrived at the prime minister’s office and were asked to sign confidentiality forms.
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The Israeli military censor prohibited the Israeli media from reporting any details about the cabinet meeting, other than the fact that it took place, leading to speculation across the country about what had happened.
Between the lines: It is not yet clear what led the Israeli citizen to cross the border.
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Israeli officials say she studied Arabic and was prevented from trying to cross the border fence into Gaza.
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“She looks like a person who needs adventure,” an Israeli officer told me.
What is the next: She must be questioned by Israeli security services on her return to assess why she traveled to Syria.
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