The High Cost of Peace Talks
The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) demanded it … the U.S. applied
pressure … Israel reluctantly agreed … and now 104 Palestinian
terrorists with blood on their hands are set to be released from Israeli
prisons. It won’t happen all at once. Some will be let go immediately,
while others will be held until further progress is made in the ongoing
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks (so, given the success rate of previous
talks, it’s likely that all 104 will never be free). And, while
the guidelines for the prisoner release deal have not been made public,
many Israelis – especially those who lost loved ones in murderous acts
committed by the terrorists who are up for release – are fuming over the
decision.
One survey found that 85% of Israelis oppose releasing prisoners
as a precondition for negotiations – and for good reason. Besides
inflicting deep emotional pain on the families of the innocent victims,
this deal risks the lives of all Israelis by saying to terrorists that,
in effect, Israel’s justice system has no teeth; if you get caught with
the blood of innocent people on your hands one day, you just might be
released the next.
This sad, unfortunate episode tells us much about the difference between Israeli and Palestinian culture. While Israelis are repulsed at the thought of terrorists going free, these same terrorists are revered as heroes in Palestinian society. Palestinian schools, summer camps, stadiums, and town squares are named after them. In P.A.-controlled Ramallah, billboards with the faces of terrorists line the streets. Terrorists have become revered, iconic figures in Palestinian society. And you can be sure that when the terrorists are released they will be given a hero’s welcome when they return home – as they have been given so often in the past.
I can only imagine the intense pressure the U.S. exerted on Israel to get Israeli officials to consent to this deal. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu when he says this was an “an incomparably difficult decision” to make. But, as an Israeli, I simply can’t go along with my government’s decision. I believe that by capitulating to the P.A.’s outrageous demand to free murderers – even for sake of peace – the Israeli government is demoralizing its citizens and diminishing its capacity to fight terrorism.
Some might argue that, although the release of murderous terrorists is deplorable, it is a price worth paying for peace – and, therefore, the U.S. was right to coerce Israel to give up the prisoners. But anyone making this argument hasn’t been paying attention to the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” for the last twenty years. The Palestinians have consistently used peace talks to extract concessions from Israel and money from the U.S. and E.U. – while they, in return, they have only offered more and more intransigence.
Those involved in the negotiations will justify releasing murderers for the sake of peace. But it is the people of Israel who stand to pay the price for the naiveté of western diplomats – not to mention the families of the victims, whose personal pain at the loss of their loved ones is now compounded by the feeling that they have been denied justice.
– By Ami Farkas
Jerusalem. protest against terror prisoner release (Photo: Ashernet)
This sad, unfortunate episode tells us much about the difference between Israeli and Palestinian culture. While Israelis are repulsed at the thought of terrorists going free, these same terrorists are revered as heroes in Palestinian society. Palestinian schools, summer camps, stadiums, and town squares are named after them. In P.A.-controlled Ramallah, billboards with the faces of terrorists line the streets. Terrorists have become revered, iconic figures in Palestinian society. And you can be sure that when the terrorists are released they will be given a hero’s welcome when they return home – as they have been given so often in the past.
I can only imagine the intense pressure the U.S. exerted on Israel to get Israeli officials to consent to this deal. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu when he says this was an “an incomparably difficult decision” to make. But, as an Israeli, I simply can’t go along with my government’s decision. I believe that by capitulating to the P.A.’s outrageous demand to free murderers – even for sake of peace – the Israeli government is demoralizing its citizens and diminishing its capacity to fight terrorism.
Some might argue that, although the release of murderous terrorists is deplorable, it is a price worth paying for peace – and, therefore, the U.S. was right to coerce Israel to give up the prisoners. But anyone making this argument hasn’t been paying attention to the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” for the last twenty years. The Palestinians have consistently used peace talks to extract concessions from Israel and money from the U.S. and E.U. – while they, in return, they have only offered more and more intransigence.
Those involved in the negotiations will justify releasing murderers for the sake of peace. But it is the people of Israel who stand to pay the price for the naiveté of western diplomats – not to mention the families of the victims, whose personal pain at the loss of their loved ones is now compounded by the feeling that they have been denied justice.
– By Ami Farkas
Author: Stand For Israel | July 31, 2013
Posted in:
Peace process
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