Righting the wrong
Op-ed: Release of Palestinian prisoners justified in light of violent Israeli occupation
If we were living in a civilized country that does not have a belligerent and oppressive regime, where the justice system treats everyone equally, then I would be opposed to the release of Palestinian prisoners – with or without blood on their hands.
However, since we live under circumstances that are the complete opposite from those described above, when beneath us a nation is suffering under the continuous violent occupation, when the military and civilian justice systems blatantly discriminate between Jews and Arabs (out of 800 cases involving Palestinian minors, only in one was the Palestinian exonerated) – in light of all this, I support any release of Palestinian prisoners.
Since faulty evidence that would not be admissible in any civilian court does not stand in the way of verdicts - I support the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In a country where a senior minister can still keep his job after boasting that he has killed Palestinians and proudly waving his hands that are stained with the blood of his neighbors, where a killer of Jews is justifiably hunted down until he is caught while killers of Palestinians can escape punishment - in such a country I consider the early release of Palestinian prisoners on the occasion of the resumption of peace negotiations as righting a wrong that is greater than the injustice of their release.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the conflict, who are paying the heaviest price for the continuation of the war. Some of them support any act that promotes reconciliation while some of them are against such overtures. It is only natural that people respond differently to personal tragedies.
From now on, from the moment of the difficult release of the Palestinian prisoners, Prime Minister Netanyahu is even more obligated to stop stalling and promote negotiations to end the conflict so that we will be able to escape its bloody cycle, in which we are murdered, then we imprison and then we release, and then do it all over again.
