Housing Minister Effie Eitam (National Religious Party) is vociferously against the prisoner exchange. Speaking on Channel 2 TV last night, Eitam likened it to a terrorist attack: "It's not an exchange of prisoners, but rather a new type of attack - a blackmail attack. If we start surrendering to blackmail, there will be no end. The high price that we're paying means that Israeli citizens will always be a target for kidnappings."
"What Hizbullah is saying," Eitam said this morning, "is that they have found another way of causing Israel to surrender. If we give in to this, no Israeli will be free to walk anywhere in the world... Look at the cruelty of it all: They're putting it as if, in the event that we don't agree, *we're* the ones who will condemn Elchanan Tenenbaum to death. As if we were the ones who kidnapped him! What we have to say is, 'Tenenbaum is alive, in the sovereign territory of the country of Lebanon, and if a hair on his head is harmed, Lebanon and the heads of Hizbullah will pay the price.'"
Likud MK Ehud Yatom, a former top GSS (General Security Service) official, told Arutz-7 this morning that in principle he is in favor of the deal, "but what worries me is that this deal will close the door on any chance of returning Ron Arad. After all, Israel captured Mustafa Dirani 14 years ago for the express purpose of getting Ron Arad... And even if, as is said, Dirani has no information on Ron Arad at present, what about the moral issue? We sent Ron Arad as a navigator on a mission, and he did not return. Dirani cruelly tortured Ron for a year, and finally sold him for money. We are talking of simply horrific things. And therefore, as long as Ron Arad is not with us, Dirani cannot be let go!"
Although Arad is not included in the deal, Israel, with the help of German mediators, would like to offer Iran a deal that would involve the release of Arab prisoners held in Germany in exchange for information on Arad.
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev, who said he is likely to vote against the exchange, said he feels an obligation to the Arad family and to all IDF soldiers who are sent on missions by the country.
Another point raised against the deal is that it will strengthen the terrorist Hizbullah organization, one of Israel's greatest enemies.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is likely to vote in favor of the deal, denied this morning that it would encourage Hizbullah to abduct other Israelis. Gen. (res.) Ilan Biran, who is responsible for conducting the negotiations, went further and said that *not* carrying out the deal might itself encourage the abduction of other Israelis, as Hizbullah attempts to raise the price for Israel.
Minister Gideon Ezra raised several points in favor of the deal, including this: "For many years, we have not been successful in getting Pollard, Azzam, or the body of Eli Cohen; here we finally have a chance to get one of our prisoners back."
Meir Indor, spokesman for Almagor Terror Victims Association, objects to the deal. He explained recently to Arutz-7 that the release of 400 terrorists is a danger to Israeli citizens, and that "a country has to know how to pay a price for the war against terrorism, just as I myself was sent to fight a battle against four terrorists; I was wounded, but could just as easily have been killed. We are fighting a war, and soldiers are sent to fight it." Asked if there is no price he would be willing to pay for the return of captives, Indor said, "We must do just as we did in 1950, during the Jibli affair. We abducted Arabs specifically for the purpose of using them to obtain the release of our citizens." Ariel Sharon himself, as a young IDF officer, initiated at the time a "bank of Arab captives" to be used to pay for the release of captured Israelis.
"What Hizbullah is saying," Eitam said this morning, "is that they have found another way of causing Israel to surrender. If we give in to this, no Israeli will be free to walk anywhere in the world... Look at the cruelty of it all: They're putting it as if, in the event that we don't agree, *we're* the ones who will condemn Elchanan Tenenbaum to death. As if we were the ones who kidnapped him! What we have to say is, 'Tenenbaum is alive, in the sovereign territory of the country of Lebanon, and if a hair on his head is harmed, Lebanon and the heads of Hizbullah will pay the price.'"
Likud MK Ehud Yatom, a former top GSS (General Security Service) official, told Arutz-7 this morning that in principle he is in favor of the deal, "but what worries me is that this deal will close the door on any chance of returning Ron Arad. After all, Israel captured Mustafa Dirani 14 years ago for the express purpose of getting Ron Arad... And even if, as is said, Dirani has no information on Ron Arad at present, what about the moral issue? We sent Ron Arad as a navigator on a mission, and he did not return. Dirani cruelly tortured Ron for a year, and finally sold him for money. We are talking of simply horrific things. And therefore, as long as Ron Arad is not with us, Dirani cannot be let go!"
Although Arad is not included in the deal, Israel, with the help of German mediators, would like to offer Iran a deal that would involve the release of Arab prisoners held in Germany in exchange for information on Arad.
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev, who said he is likely to vote against the exchange, said he feels an obligation to the Arad family and to all IDF soldiers who are sent on missions by the country.
Another point raised against the deal is that it will strengthen the terrorist Hizbullah organization, one of Israel's greatest enemies.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is likely to vote in favor of the deal, denied this morning that it would encourage Hizbullah to abduct other Israelis. Gen. (res.) Ilan Biran, who is responsible for conducting the negotiations, went further and said that *not* carrying out the deal might itself encourage the abduction of other Israelis, as Hizbullah attempts to raise the price for Israel.
Minister Gideon Ezra raised several points in favor of the deal, including this: "For many years, we have not been successful in getting Pollard, Azzam, or the body of Eli Cohen; here we finally have a chance to get one of our prisoners back."
Meir Indor, spokesman for Almagor Terror Victims Association, objects to the deal. He explained recently to Arutz-7 that the release of 400 terrorists is a danger to Israeli citizens, and that "a country has to know how to pay a price for the war against terrorism, just as I myself was sent to fight a battle against four terrorists; I was wounded, but could just as easily have been killed. We are fighting a war, and soldiers are sent to fight it." Asked if there is no price he would be willing to pay for the return of captives, Indor said, "We must do just as we did in 1950, during the Jibli affair. We abducted Arabs specifically for the purpose of using them to obtain the release of our citizens." Ariel Sharon himself, as a young IDF officer, initiated at the time a "bank of Arab captives" to be used to pay for the release of captured Israelis.