Bereaved parents oppose release of prisoners with 'blood on their hands'

Representatives of parents who have lost loved ones in terror attacks sent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a letter on Monday expressing their opposition to any change in prisoner release policies which would enable murderers to be set free.

The bereaved were assisted by Almagor, an organization that represents victims of terrorism.

The ministerial committee which took up the issue of relaxing constraints on prisoner release procedures to allow terrorists with "blood on their hands" to be freed, will meet to discuss this issue again on

Wednesday.

Shmuel Landau, whose son Ronen was murdered in a shooting in a northern Jerusalem neighborhood in 2001, told Ynet on Monday: "The public is very opposed to the release of terrorists.

"I think that there should not be any freeing of terrorists at all, but we would be satisfied if only terrorists with blood on their hands were not released – especially (jailed Fatah leader Marwan) Barghouti."He was tried and imprisoned and he should sit in prison all of his life. He's not just a terrorist but a terrorist leader.

"The public also needs to know that there is opposition to setting terrorists free, they need to know those that are released return to their evil ways."

Moshe Har-Melech, whose son Shuli was also killed in a shooting four-and-a-half year ago, added: "I am making a fuss for the people that will, heaven forbid, be killed by the same terrorists that are about to be released. "Why am I making a fuss in the place of others? Because others don't feel what I feel.

"My son was killed four years ago during the hudna. He was killed by weapons that (former Prime Minister Shimon) Peres and (former Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin gave out during those criminals' time (in office) and then they said that it was so (the Palestinians) could take care of their criminals themselves.

It turns out that they turned the weapons towards us and killed us."