Do not Release Killers

by Dani Dayan

The relevant question now is how these new negotiations will conclude. We all know what the outcome will be -- it will be identical to the outcomes of all the previous rounds of talks. The Palestinians' extreme obstinacy won't let them strike an agreement. What is more -- at least I hope as much -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not make any reckless, irresponsible offers like his predecessor Ehud Olmert did. Therefore, I ask, what price did Israel have to pay to bring Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the negotiating table?

I will say this right off the bat: Whatever the price, it is unacceptable to begin with. The idea that the State of Israel needs to pay a fee for the so-called privilege of negotiating with the other side is ridiculous and detrimental. But it is hard to shake the feeling that this time, a fee was indeed paid, and it was high. 

One price that Israel is willing to pay is already evident. Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz explicitly admitted it: Israel is planning to release Palestinian prisoners, some of them "heavyweights," as Steinitz described them. The release of terrorists is morally, and diplomatically, wrong. The very fact that the Palestinians are demanding the release of these wholesale killers raises moral questions about their attitude toward the murder of Jews. But even worse is the fact that the Israeli government is agreeing to this demand; it suggests a lenient and forgiving attitude on behalf of the government toward these murderers' actions. 

Israel has apparently agreed to pay additional heavy costs to encourage Abbas to do us all a favor and sit across from Israel's negotiators. But these other concessions are still being kept from the public. 

Instead of keeping their eyes closed, the members of the government must demand that the prime minister fully disclose all the information about these concessions. The only thing worse tha[n] being a part of a coalition with which you do not agree is not knowing where that coalition is headed. 

Dani Dayan is the former chairman of the Yesha settler council.

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5057

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