A report by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) from a year ago is being circulated once again, showing that some 65 percent of released Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists return to terrorist activity.
The report indicates that 63 percent of the Hamas terrorists and 67 percent of those from Islamic Jihad who were released in two major terrorist exchanges returned to terrorism upon being freed. The terrorists in question were released in the famous Jibril exchange of 1985 and the exchange for businessman Elchanan Tenenbaum nine years later.
In January 2004, Israel released 436 Palestinian Authority and Muslim terrorists, and the remains of some 60 Lebanese, in exchange for Tenenbaum, an Israeli who was kidnapped over three years earlier while on a dubious business trip to Arab countries, and the return of the remains of three IDF soldiers who had been kidnapped around the same time. The Jibril deal occurred in May 1985: Israel released no fewer than 1,150 terrorist prisoners, in exchange for three live Israeli prisoners of war captured in two separate incidents in 1982.
Shin Bet Concerned Over Infusion of Active Terrorists
The fact that well over 1,000 terrorists were added to the active ranks following those two deals is of great concern to the Shin bet as the talks for Shalit continue. “The release of the 1,400 terrorists that Hamas demands [for Shalit], or even a significant portion thereof, will cause great damage to our security, and will lead to a large amount of Israeli casualties within a year and a half,” Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin has said in past closed sessions. “This is true especially if they are released into Judea and Samaria.”
Diskin informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as early as a year ago that any release of terrorists must be accompanied by the unyielding demand that they not be allowed to remain in Judea and Samaria.
Shin Bet Morale at Stake
The above concerns are in addition to the potential blow to the morale of the Shin Bet. “You don’t know what a terrible blow to Shabak (Hebrew acronym for Shin Bet -ed.) morale it will be if this deal goes through,” news correspondent Haggai Huberman was told by an unnamed senior source who is closely connected with the security organization. “The agents go out on dangerous missions to thwart attacks, and they stand to discover suddenly that the terrorists in whose capture and conviction they invested so much effort are once again on the loose. This could be extraordinarily damaging.”
“Not only that, but these Shabak people will have to deal with the terror attacks that will be renewed once the terrorists get set up in the field again,” the source said.
The fact that Prime Minister Olmert did not give in to all the demands in exchange for Shalit is only small comfort, many in the Shin Bet believe. The fact that he was willing to entertain the release of 1,000 experienced and knowledgeable terrorists, and their injection back into the terrorist ranks, could have been catastrophic, they say.
Talks Were Headed for Dead End
Huberman said that given the above objections, “I predicted a while ago that nothing would come of these talks. There’s no way that Israel can agree to free all those terrorists – especially when Hamas does not even agree that they should be expelled from Judea and Samaria.”
Military Option?
Asked if Israel is now considering a military option to forcibly rescue Shalit, Huberman said, “Not necessarily. Not only are we not sure where Shalit is being held, but we truly don’t even know if he is alive.”
Other Means of Pressure: Crossings, Threats on Leaders, No Visits
Instead, Huberman said, “What has to be done is a combination of other pressure tactics on Hamas: A real, genuine closure on all the crossings into Gaza – not like now, where 150 trucks filled with supplies pass through to Gaza every day! At the same time, to make this effective, Egypt must be pressured to do a better job on monitoring the smuggling into southern Gaza via the Sinai. If the world protests that we are causing a humanitarian crisis, we will explain that it is merely temporary, and that we will reopen the crossings the minute Gilad Shalit is freed.”
Huberman has two other oft-mentioned suggestions: “We must announce that we are not allowing any further visits to the terrorists in prison. Though Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has said that this is illegal, the Cabinet ministers must declare that they do not accept this opinion... In addition, the leaders of Hamas must be targeted and threatened with death or abduction. If they know they are not immune, we might find ourselves with Shalit back home faster than we thought.”