>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. shell. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for

a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do forou >> and now, "bbc world news." >> welcome to this special edition of "gmt." >> of the israeli soldier gilad shalit has been released and is now on israeli soil. >> he had been held captive in gaza for more than five years. his release is in exchange for more than 1000 palestinian prisoners. >> i always believed that of the day would come out when i would find myself outside of prison. >> just a couple of hours of the -- ago, hundreds of palestinian prisoners arrived at a border crossing.

it is midday in london, 1:00 p.m. in the palestinian territory and that is where the israeli soldier arrived. >> released in exchange for more than 1000 palestinian prisoners. the first few hundred of those were earlier released from israeli jails. >> live coverage from our correspondent. and also richard is at another crossing where gilad shalit first tasted freedom. >> first, let's get the remarkable story of this 24- year-old israeli soldier he spent five years and activity in gaza. he gave his first interview soon after his release describing a long -- the long lonely years but always believed the day would come when he would find himself outside of prison. >> this fleeting glimpse is the first outside world has seen of gilad shalit in more than two years. after five years and four months

in a hamas prison cell, the israeli soldier looks tired and thin and that time has trouble speaking. >> obviously i miss my family a lot and my friend and i missed meeting normal people to talk to, to tell them about my experiences productivity. i have a lot to do when i am free. >> in gaza city, huge crowds gathered from early this morning to welcome back the palestinian prisoners. buses loaded with some of the 477 palestinians waits for the swap to begin. some of these prisoners were serving multiple life sentences, convicted of taking part in murders and bombings of civilian targets inside israel. some now will be allowed to stay in gaza but a few, those israel considers most dangerous, are being sent into exile. >> we thank egypt, its leadership and its people for

siding with us and for the help they have given us for the release. >> in the village in the far north of israel, gilad shalit's family are told it is time to go. finally there on their way to meet their son. the reunion of gilad shalit with his family at the airbase behind the brings to an end a five-year trauma for them. but also closes an open wound for millions of other israelis who send sons and daughters to serve in the military here and who live in fear of something similar happening to them. in gaza today there is a real joy at the return of hundreds of men and a few women who spent years or decades in israeli prisons. here they are regarded as prisoners of war. but their release will not bring an end to that conflict that has now gone on for more than 60 years. bbc news, central israel. >> palestinian president mahmoud abbas agreed said the prisoners before speaking in front of a

huge crowd in the room mollah, where it -- ramallah. he assured the prisoners the struggles will pay off. >> we ask god almighty to keep us and help us so that we can see the rest of our brothers and sisters free. like you have been freed -- and we look forward to seeing them in this square, god willing. your sacrifices and your efforts and your work has not been in vain. you have sacrificed, you have

thought -- fought, and you have paid the price and you will see the results of your struggle by the inception of a free and independent palestinian state whose capital is jerusalem. >> let's go now to this crossing in israel. our correspondent is there. this is where gilad shalit first that the back onto israeli soil. just take us through what happened a short time ago. >> one of the key things is when he moved first from the gaza strip into egypt -- was there for some time, i believe, but he was able to give that television interview. i think many of us did not expected to speak to the media so quickly, but he did and he did seem to be ok. frail, definitely. but was able to give that very

interesting interview. from that point on it he had been identified by a senior israeli official and then he came across here. the border crossing, in fact, is just there and arrived on israeli soil for the first time in more than five years. obviously a very, very significant moments for him. he was pretty quickly whisked off to a local military base where they wanted to carry out a medical examination to see how he was. they said that he was ok and certainly was able to fly. and then we have helicopters landing just over there to take him to the military base in north of year where we now have heard that he has now been reunited with his family. so, a hugely emotional reunion with his family who had not seen him and not heard from in --

from him for more than five years. apart from when he just arrived here, he made a brief phone call to them. >> he was only 19, of course, when he was first taken. did you give us a sense of any reaction there is now to this -- could you give us a sense of any reaction there is today? >> the israeli reaction has been extremely mixed. obviously everybody here is overjoyed that he has been released. but there is worry about the kind of deal that has been done by the israeli government. the fact that one soldier has been released for more than 1000 palestinian prisoners, and certainly there has been concern expressed as we saw yesterday with the supreme court and petitions being filed, appealing for the exchange not to take place because they said some of the prisoners being released have been convicted of involvement in attacks on israelis in which many israelis

have been killed. so, there is a concern in the country now that what the consequences of this deal will be, whether it could lead to renewed violence. the prisoners have been -- who are being released going back to that activity. >> stay with us for a moment because we want to cross now to another crossing. this is in gaza, where many of the release palestinian prisoners are making their way back into gaza. describe the scene as we see prisoners coming through. >> the prisoners have been arriving here on buses from egypt. they are about to be transported up to gaza city where a huge rally is being planned by hamas. we expect upward of 100 million people, -- sorry, 100,000 people, in the center for a big rally. hamas is betraying this as a big victory. we have had emotional scenes.

many of the relatives have not seen their family members for 10, 20, maybe even 30 years and people here describing this as a joyous day. a very different view, of course, from in israel -- in israel these people are regarded as murderers, terrorist, but here they are regarded as heroes and abetting a heroes' welcome. >> you have spoken to some prisoners. what are their stories and what did they make about the deal, one soldier, 1000 palestinian privet -- prisoners? >> i asked some of the prisoners, did they have any and buffeted for a gilad shalit whose plight who, after all, the same as theirs, freeland do not -- denied for many years. they said, look, how -- why so much attention on him when there are 6000 palestinian prisoners? only one elderly gentleman i mets, he was waiting to see his nephew be released, and he took me aside and he said, look, if

you put one message across, he said the mothers here, the palestinian mothers, are feeling the same as gilad shalit's mother it is today, and that of getting their relatives' home. >> john at the rafa crossing in gaza. and our thanks to richard gaffin in israel. >> we will speak to an independent party member of the knesset and once foreign policy adviser to shimon peres. do you think this is a good deal for israel? it seems very asymmetrical in any senses? >> this is certainly a deal israel has done in order to protect and save the life of its citizens. and one soldier. but we need to be very clear. it seems that hamas has already began a campaign that i would call an equivalent campaign.

and mother and a mother, a soldier and prisoners, our prisoner, their prisoners. we should be very clear that there is absolutely no equivalent. hamas kidnapped a soldier not in active combat from the territory of israel, kept him in captivity for more than five years without any rights and without letting the red cross see him. they will now try to say that they treated him well according to islamic law, but they went against all international law, all right, and this will be forever a stain of shame upon them, that they have so kept a soldier without any rights and without any access to the red cross. we should remember that those being released today are by no means equivalent. they are cold-blooded killers, murderers, terrorists, who have killed women, families, children, who had actively gone and saw to kill civilians going

about their civic lives and they are being freed today and hamas is celebrating the release of those kinds of people. >> sorry, if i could just get in one second. i want to tell our viewers we were just seeing shots of a helicopter, gilad shalit to arriving at the airbase. he has been united, again now, with his father. senior israeli party meeting him at the airbase where he is now purported to be with his family. you talk about the people who have been released in exchange. how worried are you about israel's security with thousands of these people now 3? >> naturally, we are deeply worried. which is why the decision that has been made was such a difficult one. it is the kind of dilemma that a

country such as israel that is open and democratic and seeks to preserve its moral character while engaging in conflict with a region that refuses to accept its, these are the kinds of moral guide them is that we face. and we are deeply worried -- kinds of moral dilemmas we face. we are deeply worried. worried that a large portion that were released today will continue to engage in terrorism because these are the kinds of people they are. they are terrorists. >> as the government of this to purely tried to get a popular boost -- if it is so unequal in terms of the numbers? popular boost here. this is a very difficult decision. and even though the vast majority of israelis support it, they are doing is not without an understanding of the very big price and risk the israeli

society is taking. this is part of who we are. these are the dilemmas we need to phase as a free society in combat with societies that do not share our values. if gilad shalit had access to red cross visitations such as the prisoners of hamas -- these terrorists and murderers are able to study at the open university, they are in prisons where they have visitation rights with their families, by the red cross -- if hamas had done the same with gilad shalit we would have been in a very different place today, and if the western world had also made it clear that there is absolutely no equivalence, perhaps we would have been able to avoid this very wrenching and difficult decision the government had to take. >> thank you for joining us. that was the israeli view. we are open -- will be to get a hamas spokesman the restore they. in his first television interview just moments after he was released, gilad shalit said his years in prison were long.

>> i always believed that of the day would come when i would find myself outside of prison. but after so many years -- not now. >> how did you receive the news you were about to be released? that a deal was under way for your release? then i heard the news -- >> i heard the news a week ago, and at the time i felt it was the last part of my release, the missing part. i was very happy with such news. i cannot describe my feeling at that time. however, i felt that i would be

facing difficult times to come. >> did you feel abandoned, forgotten, or were you certain that the negotiations for your release would bear fruit? >> during this period, did you ever believe negotiations would be fruitful? >> following the broadcast of the video that showed -- it does represent to you the first that toward your release? >> i think that the broadcasting of the tv clip through coordination -- of security services amongst them -- it meant nothing for me. it meant a lot for the other people, but not me.

>> why just once, why did it happen again -- didn't it happen again? >> just one question at a time, please. i feel he is not feeling well that is why -- >> ok, ok. >> it was the egyptian national security that a mediated for your release. there were previous failed mediation efforts, including one by the germans. why do you think that this time around the mediation was a success?

>> thao war summit efforts for your release -- there were so many efforts for a release that failed, even the german effort. why do you think this time the mediation was successful, especially when they egyptian military was involved? >> i think the egyptians and succeeded -- egyptian is succeeded through their good relations with hamas and also the israeli side. these relations helped with the conclusion of the deal. >> what have you miss the most while in captivity at what is the first thing you want to do when you get home? >> what is -- did you miss most and captivity and what will you do when you leave prison and out of captivity?

>> obviously, i miss my family a lot. >> gilad shalit. we will now take you live to a press conference from benjamin netanyahu. we do believe gilad shalit has been reunited with his family. let us listen to mr. netanyahu. >> -- priority was to return our kidnapped soldier gilad shalit alive and healthy, to bring him home. today this task has been completed. it involved a very difficult decision, difficult indeed.

in front of my eyes stood the need to return home the one who was sent by the state of israel to the battlefield. as a soldier and a commander, i went out on many occasions tasked with the idea, but i always knew if i all my friends were held captive the state of israel, the government of israel, would do everything they could to return us home. and this is the thing that now i carried out as the prime minister of israel. as a leader who sends daily soldiers with the idea to defend the citizens of israel. i believe that our common care for each other is not only a

saying, but it is one of the basic cornerstones of our existence. in front of my eyes stood also the need, the need for -- to minimize as much as possible the danger for the security of the citizens of israel. and for that purpose, i had two clear demands. the first being the leadership of the hamas, which includes many terrorists, senior terrorists will remain in prison. and the second that the vast majority of the released terrorists will be deported or will stay outside the areas of judea and samaria.

this will prevent them from harming our citizens again. for many years, hamas was against the these of demands. -- these demands. but a few months ago we received clear signs that they are prepared to retreat from their refusal of these conditions. many nights and days in cairo we had long negotiations with the aid of the egyptian government. we stood our ground. and when our main demands were accepted, i had to make a decision. i know very well that the pain of families, and relatives who were killed by terror is beyond

description. it is very the very difficult to see these people who killed their dear ones being released before they completed their punishment. but i knew also that in the current political situation, this is the best decision that we can reach, and there was no assurance that the conditions that allowed this agreement would continue in the future. and then it could be we could have lost gilad shalit forever. unfortunately such an occurrence happened before. i was thinking about gilad and about the five years where he rotted as a hamas prisoner. i did not want his fate to be

fate, whos ron arat's was captured 25 years ago exactly and has not returned to this state. i remembered batia arad -- i remembered her wishes for a son until the day she died. and i knew that i had a huge responsibility. i am aware of the full meaning of making this decision. and in these moments, a leader stands alone and he has to make a decision. i weighed and i decided. the ministers supported this

decision with a majority and today now gilad shalit has returned home to its family -- his family, his people, to his state. . is is a very exciting moment a short while ago i hugged him when he came down from the helicopter and i took him to his parents and i told them i return your son home to you. but this is also a very difficult day because even if the price has been reduced, the price is very heavy, very high. i want to make it clear, we will

continue fighting terrorism and every terrorist, every released terrorists who will return to terrorism, his blood -- >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.