Soldier Worth 1000 Terrorists
Soldier Worth 1000 Terrorists

If you want to underscore Israel’s isolation in the Middle East, take a look at the PLO Covenant, U.N. Resolutions and the Goldstone Report. However, If you want to feel good about the gap between Israel and its neighbors, look at horrendous deal that is being discussed at present: the exchange of 1 innocent boy, an inexperienced Israeli army corporal held in cruel isolation from the day he was kidnapped in June 2006 by a gang of terrorists, for 1000 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel after most rigorous judicial

Israel is negotiating the freeing of fanatical murderers who probably will return to kill.

processes. Among the prisoners are unrepentant murderers of women and children, convicted to life imprisonment.



As specific names are being decided upon, Israel is negotiating the freeing of fanatical murderers who probably will return to kill. This embattled country is subject to terrific pressures: respect for human life and loyalty to young soldiers and their parents on the one hand, and the cynicism of a world that always pushes Israel to give in--as if it needs to make amends for its very existence--on the other.



In the midst of these controversial negotiations, Netanyahu has announced the decision to stop any construction in the settlements for the next ten months. This is presented to Mr. Obama as a proof of diligence and good behavior, as demanded by the international forum.



Hamas, sadistically playing on Israeli emotions, puts off the decision on Shalit from day to day, with orders and counter-orders going back and forth from Damascus and Cairo. Shalit's parents are trying to persuade politicians and

Hamas, sadistically playing on Israeli emotions, puts off the decision on Shalit from day to day.

Rabbis to exert influence to get the government to reach a deal. The parents of three boys killed in the March 2003 bombing of the number 37 bus in Haifa are asking the High Court to oppose the release of murderers. Organizations demand the list of prisoners, MK’s demand to see the Shamgar Committee’s bylaws for such negotiations.



Is it right or wrong to consider the life of a soldier worth the release of such evil to the world? Will Hammed Ibrahim, military leader of Hamas in the West Bank, who killed organized attacks that killed 76 people, be freed? Or Abdullah Barghouti, "the engineer" who prepared all the explosives that caused bloodshed in Jerusalem between 2001 and 2003? His targets included the Sbarro restaurant, the University Cafeteria at Mount Scopus. He killed at least 46. What about Sayed Abbas, who masterminded the suicide bombing in a Natanya hotel in 2002, in which 30 Israelis were killed during the Passover seder, including many elderly Holocaust survivors and their families?



The name mentioned most often is Marwan Barghouti, who it is said will replace Abu Mazen if released. If that happens, Once Barghouti is released owing to its good offices, the former head of the Fatah Tanzim will be beholden to Hamas. His most recent photos show him smiling in prison and he has even been interviewed there, but Barghouti is serving five life sentences and was the real organizer of the second Intifada. We interviewed him several times in Ramallah. He was Arafat's man, who invented and controlled the logistics of the suicide bombers’ explosive belts. Barghouti can certainly

The problem is essentially moral rather than political.

replace Abu Mazen, but what does that do for peace?



The problem is essentially moral rather than political. What is the right thing to do? Israel will probably make the macabre exchange so that every soldier can be sure of being saved if he falls into captivity. It is commendable that such a small and abandoned country, normally divided on so many issues, is deeply united when it comes to the value of life. The question is only whose lives are valued, those who could be killed by the freed murderers or that of the young, captured soldier. It is just too bad that so many evil people will make that decision an invitation to kidnap and kill again.

www.fiammanirenstein.com