by Nadav Shragai
Beyond the grave
immorality involved in releasing murderous terrorists from prison -- not
in exchange for a living or dead soldier or within the framework of a
peace agreement -- but only so that the Palestinians will sit in the
same room with us to talk; and beyond turning the law and the court's
decision into a "joke," the bitter taste, humiliation and insult felt by
the bereaved families about to witness their children's killers set
free by the Israeli government -- is one fact that must serve as the
determining factor, even for those who are ignoring all the other good
reasons: Released terrorists return to killing and hurting us. That is
how it was, how it is, and how it shall be.
Our distant history is
familiar: Many of the perpetrators and murderers of the two intifadas
and multitude of terrorist attacks were released in previous peace deals
and "gestures." Recent history is less known: Dozens of the prisoners
released in the last deal, for Gilad Schalit, have also returned to
involvement in terrorist activity. Some have already been detained
again.
One of the more
prominent figures among them is Hamas operative Iman Alshrawni, who in
2002 was sentenced to 38 years in prison for his involvement in a
terrorist attack that wounded 20 people in Beersheba. He was released in
October 2011, signed an agreement to refrain from terrorist activity,
but returned to his old ways and was arrested again at the beginning of
2012. In prison he began a hunger strike and Israel allowed him to go to
Gaza. He recently told a Lebanese television station that he is back to
working for Izzedine al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing.
"Old" Iman is relevant
to us because he is the same age as many of the "old" killers who the
government, under American pressure, will ask for authorization Sunday
morning to release. Some of the members of Hamas terrorist cells
operating near Nablus and Hebron, arrested by the Israel Security
Agency, were also released in the Schalit deal. These cells planned a
series of devastating bombings and kidnappings.
The Palestinian street
does not see the release of prisoners as an act of mending fences,
conciliation or restraint, as some in Israel fool themselves in
believing. From their point of view, this is a victory for them and a
defeat for us. The message they receive is that terrorism pays off, that
it can be implemented accordingly -- as a supplementary act to be used
before or after negotiations to gain more from the talks or even to stop
them.
Nadav Shragai
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5149
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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