Meir Dagan
Meir DaganIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan criticized on Monday the deal to free Gilad Shalit, which will see Israel release 1,027 terrorists in exchange for the abducted soldier.

Dagan made the comments in a conversation with the chairman of the Almagor Terrorist Victims Organization, Meir Indor.

Dagan said that a better deal was suggested during the days of the Ehud Olmert government, but the government rejected it. He explained, “This deal is worse than the previous deal because it includes Israeli Arab terrorists.”

The Shalit deal includes six Israeli Arab terrorists who will be the first to be freed by the prisoner swap deal.

The six, who are Arab citizens of northern Israel, were brought to the Megiddo Prison Monday evening in preparation for their release to their families Tuesday morning.

All are residents of villages such as Umm el-Fahm and Ar'ara and will be allowed to remain in their own homes.

Meanwhile, Dagan’s associates said on Monday, “This deal could have been completed under the same conditions two and a half years ago.”

The 1,027 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners who will be released include hundreds of multiple murderers with Jewish blood on their hands. On Tuesday, an initial group of 477 terrorists will be released in the first phase of the exchange, and Shalit will arrive in Israel.

On Monday evening, the Supreme Court rejected the petitions that had been filed by families of terror victims against the exchange of the terrorists.

The three judges, Dorit Beinisch, Hanan Meltzer, and Eliezer Rivlin, wrote in their ruling that the decision on questions of security considerations regarding the released terrorists should be made by the Israeli government. They added that at this time “the fate of Gilad Shalit hangs in the balance and any changes to the deal also could endanger Gilad’s life.”

By rejecting the appeals, the court officially gave the green light to implement the exchange deal.