Releasing Terror For Peace
By Cathryn Crawford (08/01/03)
Israel is determined to release some, if not all, of the Palestinian prisoners that they now hold, including those being held on charges of terrorism and violence against Israeli civilians. The release is not in President Bush’s so-called roadmap to peace, but Israel wants to show its “goodwill” to the Palestinians and, supposedly, give the Palestinians an incentive to follow the roadmap.
Is this a logical incentive? How can it be? Instead of fighting terrorism, Israel is actually going to set free the very people who are conspiring to destroy it. Does this make sense? Apparently Ariel Sharon and the Israeli cabinet think it does.
In a 14-9 vote last Sunday, the Israeli cabinet decided to release over 500 Palestinian prisoners, including over 400 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. This includes Hamas leadership, overseas liaisons, accountants for Hamas, and people intimately involved in planning the details of terrorist attacks against Israel.
These terrorists are in prison for a reason. All have been convicted of a crime against Israel, and all have been placed in custody because they are seen as a danger to Israeli civilians.
Now, of course, Hamas is clamoring for the release of all of their prisoners. According to them, because they agreed to a June 29th cease-fire, Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen should be pushing for the release of their prisoners. Mazen is also coming under fire from Fatah, the intimate clan of Yassir Arafat. They are whining that Mazen is failing to win concessions from Israel regarding the release of the other Fatah prisoners.
How is it that releasing 500 prisoners is not a concession, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because Israel hasn’t released all of the prisoners that have been convicted of being involved in terrorism against civilians. Hamas and Islamic Jihad want their thugs – ironically referred to as political prisoners – out of jail.
Should that be a surprise?
The victims of terrorism are rightly protesting and fighting against this decision by the Israeli cabinet. “We’re against releasing them,” said Sheila Rosenak-Shorshan, director of social programs for the Terror Victims Association, an organization formed in 1986 to protest a planned release of Palestinian terrorists. Ms. Rosenak-Shorshan also pointed out that after 415 Palestinian terrorists were released in a blanket amnesty in 1993 and another 1,100 between 1995 and 1997, many returned to terrorist activities.
No surprise there, either.
In order for peace to happen, Abu Mazen has to agree to completely and totally disarm and dismantle every terrorist group that operates in the West Bank and Gaza, instead of advocating a silly cease-fire that has never been and never will be viable. The release of prisoners by Israel shouldn’t even be an option on the table. Israel, in turn, will have to stop allowing options such as prisoner release to even be discussed. Such ideas should be laughed off the negotiating table. They’re ridiculous. However, instead of a plan to dismantle terrorist organizations, this roadmap and plan for peace has become a plan to release terrorists and give them funding. Amazing. And the United States is encouraging this? I thought we were fighting a war on terror. Is that war only confined to certain fronts? It certainly doesn’t seem that we’re encouraging Israel to fight its own war against terror forcefully.
However – and this is a big however - this cannot be laid at the feet of the United States. This decision was made solely by the Israeli cabinet. The price for this decision, however, will be paid by the blood of the civilians who will die because these terrorists are going to be back out on the street. I guess Ariel and Co. feel that it’s a low enough price to pay.
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