In an article about the negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the deal to release Gild Schalit, Ethan Bronner of the New York Times quotes a former Israeli official.
Yaakov Perry, former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, told Israel Radio that while a real risk existed, “the past has shown that some of the prisoners do not return to terror and some portion are integrated in various operative positions.â€
I would be encouraged if he said that none of the prisoners return to terror, but, in fact, if some “do not return,” others do return.
Nadav Shragai has documented the damage that’s been done by previous prisoner releases.
An investigation by the Almagor Terror Victims Association in Israel revealed that at least 30 of the terrorist attacks perpetrated since 2000 were committed by terrorists freed in deals with terror organizations. Many were freed in the framework of goodwill gestures because they were defined by Israel as “without blood on their hands.†The bloody swath cut by these terrorists claimed the life of 177 persons, with many others wounded and made invalids.
There is a real cost to prisoner releases. And the damage is exacerbated by the treatment accorded the worst of the prisoners. The unrepentant Samir Kuntar is a celebrity in Lebanon because of the brutal murders he committed.
Arnold and Frimet Roth write about another monster, who is rumored to be in the deal.
Tamimi has declared unequivocally that she has no regrets about what she did. In one of her media interviews, permitted by the Israel Prison Service, she is quoted saying: “I am not sorry for what I did. I will get out of prison and I refuse to recognize Israel’s existence… Discussions will only take place after Israel recognizes that this is Islamic landâ€.
I have talked about Sbarro (from which my own daughter was half a block away when the attack took place) and its victims many times on this blog, usually on the anniversary of the attack. A cousin of the Schijveschuurder family has been in touch with me and reads this blog from time to time. The pregnant woman who was an only child had purchased the home of one of our closest friends in New Jersey together with her husband. And the lady who is in a coma is a friend of a friend (who has a husband and young daughter who was a toddler at the time of the attack) and continues to be on my prayer list daily.
This is a small country. Releasing Ahlam Tamimi would be a kick in the gut for most of us. And it would be devastating for Arnold and Frimet and the family members of the other victims. It cannot be allowed to happen.
Bronner can write all he wants about the dynamics of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and how they will be affected by a possible exchange for Gilad Schalit. But, in the end, what kind of peace can Israel have with a society that reveres conscienceless murderers like Kuntar, Tamimi or Marwan Bargouti (reportedly part of a deal for Schalit.)?
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
