As expected: Palestinian jihadis vow to release more prisoners by abducting more Israeli soldiers

But amid the jubilation, reality quickly came to the fore. The Popular Resistance Committees, the Hamas-dominated militant coalition that captured Sgt Maj Shalit, vowed that it would seize another Israeli soldier to force Israel to release the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners that remain in its custody.

“We are going to capture another soldier and cleanse all the Israeli jails of our prisoners,” said a masked spokesman using the nom de guerre Abu Mujahid.

For many Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, the release of so many prisoners for one man is evidence that Israel responds only to threats, making the path of peaceful negotiation espoused by Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and his moderate Fatah party nonsensical. “The people want a new Gilad, the people want a new Gilad,” chanted the tens of thousands who gathered at a Hamas-sponsored rally in Gaza city to welcome home the freed prisoners.