An unknown number of the over 1,000 terrorists who are to be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit will be allowed to return to Jerusalem. A group of concerned residents has responded by announcing the creation of an informal “terrorist warning system.”
The system is simple: activists will keep tabs on freed terrorists, and will alert the public if they attempt to enter public areas or use public transportation. In addition, the terrorists’ pictures and personal information will be made available on posters throughout the capital.
“The public does not know them, and they could wander freely. People do not realize that these are terrorists with much blood on their hands,” explained long-time Jerusalem activist Aryeh King, who spoke Sunday to Arutz Sheva.
King explained how the public would be made aware, “If they try to get on the light rail train, we will announce over a megaphone that there is a terrorist in the area,” he said. Volunteers working on the “warning system” will be advised by a lawyer regarding the legal limits of what they can do, he added, and only mature adults able to avoid unnecessary confrontation will be chosen for the task.
Activists are prepared to go beyond Jerusalem if necessary, and to alert Israelis in other parts of the country if terrorists with Jerusalem resident status try to leave the city, King declared.
The freed terrorists will have few restrictions put on them under the terms of the exchange deal, he noted. They will be required to visit a police station once a day to sign in. “Aside from that,” he warned, “they will have 24 free hours to carry out attacks anywhere in the country.”
The main objective is to let the public know who the newly released terrorists are and where they live – something that even government ministers have not yet been told, said King. After that goal is met, the informal “warning system” will become increasingly less necessary until it can be phased out completely, he predicted.