SHOULD ISRAEL RELEASE MORE
TERRORISTS?
By Stephen M.
Flatow
Every time there's a public
discussion about whether Israel should release more imprisoned Palestinian
terrorists, my heart skips a beat. My daughter Alisa was murdered by Palestinian
terrorists in 1995. Two of the killers have been in an Israeli prison since
1995, serving life sentences. I always worry that they will be among the ones
released. So yes, it's
personal.
But it's also much more than
that.
It's not just about my
daughter's killers; it's about dozens of other Israeli and American families
whose loved ones also were victimized by Palestinian terrorists. It's about the
future Israeli victims, if the released terrorists return to their violent ways,
as so many of them do. It's about what's
best for Israel's national security. And, of course, it's about what's best for
America, too.
Last year, Israel agreed to
release more than 100 terrorists, some of them convicted murderers, in stages,
as a gesture of "good faith" to the Palestinians. It was a measure of Israel's
desperation for peace, and of the Obama administration's not-so-subtle threats
to publicly blame Israel if the peace process derails. So to keep that process
going, the Israelis took what everyone agrees is a serious security
risk.
Now the Palestinian Authority
(PA) is demanding that Israel release yet another batch of terrorists--even
though the PA is threatening to walk away from the peace negotiations in the
weeks to come.
Sadly, the Palestinian
leadership never responds to such gestures with any gestures of its own, any
steps that would show their desire for peace. Instead, the released killers are
welcomed as heroes, with public celebrations, marching bands, and speeches from
PA leaders heaping praise on the murderers. When Palestinians embrace
terrorists, it tends to convince Israelis that the Palestinians still, well,
embrace terrorism.
In a separate "good will"
gesture, the Israelis recently gave the PA the bodies of five terrorists, two of
whom were involved in suicide bombings that left 16 Israelis dead and more than
80 wounded. Here is how a reporter on PA Television described the two dead
bombers at the March 12 funeral in Nablus: "The skies of Nablus adorn themselves
with the stars who loved the soil of the homeland, in which they will lie
forever having returned to it as Martyrs (Shahids)."
Imagine the uproar if after
the funeral of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a reporter for a mainstream
American television station, declared: "The skies of Oklahoma City adorn
themselves with this star who loved the soil of the homeland, in which he will
lie forever having returned to it as a Martyr."
PA Television then
interviewed the brother of suicide bomber Imad Zubeidi, who said "This is not
mourning, but a wedding of Martyrdom--we are very proud that our brother gave of
himself for Palestine." And the sister
of the other bomber, Maher Hbeishah, said, "He would always pray, 'Allah, make
us live happily and die as Martyrs'--praise be to Allah, he achieved
it."
This is the culture of
glorifying mass murder that the Palestinian Authority has created. If Israel
releases 26 more terrorists, as the PA is demanding, that will mean 26 more
celebrations, 26 more parades, and 26 more relatives on television, telling
millions of Palestinian and other Arab viewers how wonderful it is to carry out
suicide bombings.
You don't have to be a prime
minister or a seasoned diplomat or a four-star general to understand that
setting more killers free just doesn't make any sense.
It won't increase the chances for peace. It will just give the Palestinian another prime-time opportunity to glorify mass murderers.
It won't help our ally,
Israel. It will be just another one-sided concession for which Israel will get
nothing in return--and will whet the appetite of Israel's enemies to keep
demanding more and more.
It will send a message to the
Palestinians that they don't need to change their ways. They can keep on
encouraging terrorism, they can keep promoting a culture of violence--and the
Obama administration will keep on pushing to give them a sovereign state, even
though we know that it will be a terrorist state. That won't be good for Israel,
for America, or for peace.
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