Israel Matzav

Olmert redefines blood

As expected, Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert promised 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen that he would release 250 prisoners terrorists being held in Israeli prisons. In fact, Olmert may start releasing them as early as Friday. But as I noted, Olmert has been having trouble finding enough terrorists who meet the criteria for release. Note these lawyerly words:

Olmert's spokesman, Jacob Galanti, said the prisoner release would take place on Friday. He said 85 percent of the prisoners would come from Abbas's Fatah movement, with the remainder coming from smaller Palestinian parties. None will come from Hamas, he said.

Galanti said none of the prisoners has been directly involved in deadly attacks on Israelis, though some are connected to violent groups. He said all prisoners would have to sign a pledge renouncing violence or face even tougher prison terms in the future.

Note the magic words: "directly involved in deadly attacks." Until now, the government never differentiated between attacks in which Israelis were murdered and attacks in which they were 'only' wounded. According to Almagor, the terror victims organization, Olmert is about to change that.

Chana Bart lived with her husband and eight children in Kfar Darom, Jewish Gaza, before being thrown out of her home during the Disengagement/expulsion two years ago. She was paralyzed in the lower half of her body in a terrorist shooting attack in 2002, and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. Two years later - a day after Sharon's bombshell announcement of his plan to throw the more than 8,000 Jews of Gaza out of their homes - Chana and her husband Eliezer celebrated the brit [ritual circumcision] of their new baby son. They named him Amichai [My Nation Lives] Yisrael.

The scene of Chana carrying her baby to the brit in a wheelchair marked a poignant moment in Gush Kaif history, and was immortalized in films prior to the expulsion.

Mrs. Bart has written a letter to Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert. Here is part of it:

"As one who was seriously wounded in a shooting attack on the Kisufim route [into Gush Katif], I would like to know if the government decision to free 250 terrorists 'without blood on their hands' includes the release of terrorists who wounded Israelis. Spokesman and 'leakers' for the government say that a terrorist who wounded a Jew is not considered to have 'blood on his hands,' and can therefore be included on the list of those who can be considered for release.

...

"I ask you, Mr. Prime Minister: Just because I was successful in remaining alive, therefore those wicked men who shot me should be released? I am bound to a wheelchair, and they should be able to walk around free and happy? Just because I managed to survive the inferno from which they planned that I would not come out alive, they should be able to enjoy the rest of their lives calmly and pleasantly?

"In previous terrorist releases, I have been informed [by the Almagor terror victims association] that your predecessors understood that 'blood on their hands' means both killing and wounding. They understood that a terrorist who failed to kill but succeeded in wounding his victim, must serve out his full sentence.

"I wouldn't want you to have to deal for even one week with what my family and I have to deal with day in and day out. Perhaps you will invite me and my family for a talk and you will hear what we go through each day. I can of course only tell you in words what we go through, but the actual pain you won't be able to feel - but at least you will have some of 'all of the data' on your way to make such a fateful decision. It is a decision that has no turning back, except by once again expending great efforts to arrest them once again, at the expense of endangering IDF soldiers."

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:15 PM