Israel Matzav

Why NOT to negotiate with terrorists

The Jerusalem Post is reporting this evening that 'moderate Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is 'confident' that an agreement will be reached to release kidnapped Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit.

From reading some of Abu Mazen's statements, it should be clear that he couldn't care less whether Shalit is released and is only interested in assuring that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza comes to a halt. Here are two examples:

"I am afraid that what is to come is going to be dangerous because we can't bear another serious aggression and another occupation. What is to come may be more difficult. What is important is to protect national unity. To protect our people and to avoid bringing danger and disaster to the nation." [You will all recall that 'to protect national unity' is why Abu Mazen will not fight terrorism. CiJ].

[From a statement issued by Abu Mazen's office:]

"After a week of continuous and lengthy contacts with all parties, Palestinian, Arab, international and particularly Egyptian, the president [Abbas] is still exerting efforts to stop the Israeli incursions, assassinations and detentions and avoid more disasters for the Palestinian people."

According to the Post, on Friday the 'Palestinians' were on the verge of agreeing to release Shalit in return for a 'several hundred' prisoners including all of the female prisoners.

But here's why Israel should not be negotiating with terrorists:

Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said on Saturday that his movement wants a prisoner swap similar to the one that was reached between Israel and Hizbullah a few years ago. "There will be no solution for this case without the release of Palestinian prisoners," he said. "We want a prisoner exchange like Hizbullah, which swapped the bodies of three Israeli soldiers for hundreds of Arab prisoners held in Israel."

For those who don't realize which exchange he means, he is talking about, in January 2004, Israel traded more than 400 prisoners for the bodies of three Israeli soldiers abducted by Hezbullah at the Lebanese border in October 2000 (Sgt. Adi Avitan, Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham and Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaid), and philandering drug dealer Elhanan Tannenbaum, a high-ranking army officer who was kidnapped from Dubai where he went to close a drug deal.

Within days after that 'exchange' Hamas was threatening to kidnap Israeli civilians.

In other words, if we make a deal this time, it will happen again, R"L (God forbid).

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:13 AM