While Hamas is a bitter enemy, no one can ever accuse the terrorist regime in Gaza of hiding its true feelings or beating around the bush regarding Israel. For Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his cohorts, the prisoner exchange deal that led to the release of 1,027 terrorists by Israel did nothing to earn brownie points with Hamas – quite the contrary, in Gaza; plans are underway to create the next Gilad Shalit, to abduct another IDF soldier.
In Gaza, the day’s mission was celebration, with tens of thousands waving Hamas flags, calling for the “next Gilad Shalit”, anxiously awaiting the news of the next abducted IDF soldier, the ticket to freedom for so many terrorists.
The scene was more-or-less the same in Ramallah, with the PA (Palestinian Authority) moderates, with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and others addressing the large crowd. The masses called for “liberating Palestine”, translating to ousting Israel from Yerushalayim, Yehuda, Shomron and many other areas.
Analysts explain that the Hamas prisoner exchange does however deliver a measurable political blow to Fatah leader Abu Mazen, whose position is tenuous at best. Even while considered Israel’s negotiating partner by Jerusalem and Washington alike, Hamas’ popularity has grown several fold following the Shalit prisoner deal and this is worrisome for Ramallah, Jerusalem and Washington alike.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
The Israelis can round up hostages for trade with little trouble. There is nothing from keeping them from rounding up people without “blood on their hands”. They can also raise the price by executing terrorists, or denying them any outside communications. Remember that all it takes to override an Israeli Supreme Court decision is 61 votes in the kenesset (the advantage of not having a constiution). If the Red Cross complains, tell them to produce Ron Arad before they whine.
#1, you said a great line – they should execute terrorists. It should be a law, that if you kill a Jew, we kill you. Zero tolerance policy. That probably won’t be such a deterrent, but at least we won’t put them back on the street to kill again.