Israel Matzav

JPost slams possible Barghouti release

An editorial in Sunday's Jerusalem Post slams the possible release of Marwan the Murdering Moron Barghouti as part of an 'exchange' for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Bringing terrorists to trial is no negligible matter. Members of Israel's security forces put their lives on the line to track down and capture such homicidal kingpins. What message do we send to them if we then set those terrorists free?

What of the inherent contempt for our own judicial system - one of the most autonomous, fair-minded and progressive in the entire democratic world? By overruling multiple murder convictions, we invalidate verdicts, delegitimize our courts and damage Israel's legal reputation beyond repair.

In truth, furthermore, there is no pragmatic certainty here - no remotely credible reason to believe that Israel, if it followed this route, would be doing anything more than liberating a dangerous antagonist, and potentially facilitating new terror onslaughts of the sort Barghouti masterminded in the past.

Setting Barghouti free, not incidentally, would also reward the hard line adopted by Fatah at its assembly in Bethlehem these past few days - including the refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state, the adherence to a "right of return" that would turn Israel into Palestine by weight of numbers, and the demand for full Palestinian control of Jerusalem as a precondition to renewing negotiations.

NONE OF the advocates of Barghouti's release has ever detailed precisely how or when he was transformed from a killer into a peace-lover. None can credibly explain why Barghouti's own rhetoric, which so contradicts their assertions, should be dismissed.

In this context it is instructive to listen to Kadima's Avi Dichter, a former Shin Bet head and ex-minister of public security. Barghouti "earned his status in PA society with the blood of murdered and wounded Israelis," Dichter, a proven advocate of compromise with the Palestinians, said this week. "This man has amply proved his unreliability."

While many of the same arguments against release could be made with respect to nearly every 'Palestinian' prisoner, they are especially true with respect to Barghouti, who as the leader of the 'Fatah tanzim' orchestrated dozens of terror attacks with which he was not charged in the interests of convicting him relatively quickly. There is nothing to indicate that the chameleon has changed his stripes. Barghouti should be treated as no less dangerous than any other murderer. If anything, he is more dangerous.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:33 PM