The swift and successful conclusion of the deal to secure the release of the young Israeli woman who crossed the border into Syria last week was tainted over the weekend, after foreign media reports of a secret clause: Israel will pay $1.2 million for Russian coronavirus vaccines, which will be delivered to Syria.
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In past deals, Israel sought to avoid concessions not directly related to the deal itself. The argument was that doing so would open a dangerous door to a bevy of strange demands from the other side in the future, from money to weapons to other diplomatic concessions. Therefore, the Shamgar Commission (whose conclusions were never officially adopted) also recommended that any prisoner exchange should be balanced equally: a soldier for a prisoner, a civilian for a civilian, a body for a body.
The Israeli government made a legitimate decision to deviate from its customary position, but concealing the matter raises questions and concerns. It appears it was terribly inconvenient to someone for this clause to become public knowledge, certainly within the context of the current political climate on the eve of elections in Israel. It could have muddied the achievement and left the impression that Israel had submitted to a dictate or failed in the negotiations (certainly at the same time Israel wasn't allowing the transfer of vaccines to Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza).
Using the Military Censor to conceal the "secret clause" was unnecessary. In 2021, it's impossible to block information that can be quickly and widely disseminated. Attempts to do so weaken an important tool. Even worse, they erode the credibility of the Military Censor and the government.
Precisely similar to the F-35 fighter jet deal, it would have been better to release all the details in advance and to let the public judge whether it was reasonable or not. It seems that in both cases, despite the price and criticism, the answer would have been positive.
The "secret clause" raises questions for other reasons as well. It was said that Russia itself insisted on discretion, even conditioning any future help on matters of this sort on it. With Israel still relying on Russian help to locate the remains of IDF soldiers Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz, who were killed in the First Lebanon War in 1982, or former Mossad agent Eli Cohen, it's obvious why Israel would acquiesce to the Russian demand. One cannot avoid the sneaking suspicion, however, that the Russian interest coincided with the Israeli interest. Regardless, Israel is not Russia, and the rules and laws in a democracy are different than those in Russia.
On the surface, Russia had no reason to insist on Israel paying for the vaccines. It is a minuscule sum that doesn't affect its economy. Just to put things in perspective: Every month, Russia transfers to Syria anti-aircraft batteries to replace those destroyed or damaged in Israeli airstrikes, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. Although Syria is supposed to pay for these batteries, in actuality it can't afford them and receives them "on the house."
Hence, it appears Russia's main goal was to show Israel who the real boss in the area is; to humiliate it a little, and along the way make a quick buck. This is regrettable for many reasons, mainly because Israel could have leveraged (with Syria and the Palestinians) the vaccines it possesses toward significant achievements for itself rather than for others. Not doing so, together with accepting the Russian dictate -- could send a dour message to the region that Israel only understands force.
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