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Hanoch Daum
Photo: Rafi Deloya

Release the terrorists

Hanoch Daum makes case for releasing Palestinian murderers in exchange for Shalit

So how can we release terrorists with blood on their hands? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Hamas will not be facing a shortage of terrorists even if Israel will never be releasing even one detainee currently held in our jails.

 

But the swap deal will provide Hamas with a backwind, you say? Well, I don't seem to recall that Fatah won any election campaign in the recent past, so it's difficult to argue that this swap of all things will boost Hamas in an irreversible manner.

 

And what about a new wave of terrorism to follow the deal, you ask? The only reason that we do not see suicide bombers in Israeli cities has to do with the fact that the State of Israel embarked on Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 and built the security fence.

 

No good will on the other side of the fence has to do with the quiet here. The Qassam rocket attacks also subsided because of Operation Cast Lead and not because of anything else. Once Israel will let up its pressure on Hamas, it will attack us again – with the prisoners to be released in the swap or without them.

 

So how can we release terrorists with blood on their hands? In my view, we should be asking the opposite question. How could we not release them?

 

How, in God's name, can these 70 despicable terrorists, who were the focus of most disagreements in the past two years, prevent us from finalizing such a significant deal; a deal that would prompt unforgettable national catharsis of goodness and light, and that would also wash away some of the bitter disappointment we experienced over the Ron Arad affair.

 

We always had a more difficult time with casualties, and we shall always have a more difficult time when dealing with them. We will also always be more sensitive to our captives. Some people view this as a weakness, but this is also the source of our strength. This is what makes us what we are.

 

Let's hope that my next column will be written after Gilad steps back in Israel and hugs his family members, whom he thought about every night, while saddened and pained in Hamas captivity. Let's hope it happens.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.29.09, 18:19
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