as the Palestinian prisoners released in the swap deal and their families. Blair also said that he hopes the prisoner swap deal "is a moment of opportunity—not only for Gaza—but also a regaining and revival of credibility in the peace process". International United States – President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the release of Shalit and, saying he was imprisoned for "far too long". White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stated that "We are pleased by the reports that Mr. Shalit will be home soon with his family. The president, as you know, has called many times for his release, and that his release is long overdue." United Kingdom – British Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the agreement and expressed a hope that Shalit would be reunited with his family "as soon as possible." France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy warmly welcomed the agreement to free Shalit and thanked Egypt for its role in the negotiations. Germany – Germany, which played a leading role in the prisoner swap negotiations, expressed its support for the deal. Russia – The Russian Foreign Ministry published a statement saying, "The exchange gives reasons to expect that the parties will mange to make progress in the settlement of other sensitive issues". Turkey – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu welcomed Gilad's release and stated that Turkey was happy to see Gilad Shalit going free. Turkey along with Egypt and Germany had played a key role in Shalit's release. Iran – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast stated that Tehran congratulates the Palestinian nation on its "victory" in the release of Palestinian prisoners. Subsequent events On 18 October 2011, the family of Solomon Liebman, who was killed in a shooting attack 13 years earlier, announced a potential financial reward of $100,000 for anyone who killed the two murderers of Solomon Liebman (Khuwailid Ramadan and Nizar Ramadan) who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. In response to this statement, on 25 October 2011 the Saudi cleric and preacher Sheik Awadh al-Qarani offered a financial reward of $100,000 for anyone who managed to kidnap an Israeli soldier to be replaced with more Palestinian prisoners. On 29 October 2011, the Saudi royal Prince Khaled bin Talal stated that he has decided to show solidarity with al-Qarani offering a financial reward of $900,000 to those who would manage to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, thus