Posted on 07/02/2008 6:23:10 PM PDT by george76
On Sunday the Israeli cabinet voted 22-3 in favor of a “prisoner” swap with Hezbollah. Israel, on its side of the bargain, won’t be receiving any prisoners but instead the corpses of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, the two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah in 2006, along with partial, inadequate information on Ron Arad, the airman shot down over Lebanon in 1986.
Hezbollah, for its part, gets five live terrorists including child-killer Samir Kuntar, dozens of corpses of terrorists, information on four Iranian diplomats who were detained by Christian Phalange forces in Lebanon in 1982, and live Palestinian terrorists whose number and identity are supposed to be determined by Israel.
The lopsided vote in favor was especially notable given the opposition of Israel’s defense establishment, which stressed the obvious facts that: such deals strengthen terror organizations; such deals both encourage further kidnappings and encourage these organizations to up their demands for hostages already held; and trading live terrorists for dead Israelis further endangers other kidnapped Israelis by telling terrorists they can extort high prices even for their corpses.
The cabinet was also told by Mossad chief Meir Dagan and Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin—staunch opponents of the deal—that Kuntar’s inclusion means losing any further chance for genuine progress on the case of Ron Arad, since Kuntar was Israel’s last remaining bargaining chip for Arad.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, for his part, told the cabinet ...
Hezbollah, for its part, reacted by celebrating the cabinet’s decision and its Al-Manar Television called it “proof that the word of the resistance is the most faithful, strongest and supreme.”
The Palestinian Authority also expressed satisfaction. The PA had already been praising Kuntar and last week its official TV showed a picture of him next to a map of Israel covered by a Palestinian flag.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
Quit trading lilve guys for dead guys. Make them trade you live guys back.
Yep, this action by Israel just serves to encourage their terrorist scum enemies. Very disheartening.
Israel is not “caving.”
Israel is showing that 1 of their corpses is worth more than a dozen living terrorists.
The Israeli Army is showing its soldiers that for their sacrifice, they will not be forgotten and they will absolutely come home, regardless if they are alive or not.
Never leave your brother behind.
But it isn't.
It is caving.
The murderers Israel releases prove that Olmert does
not value the lives of Israelis at all.
Until the people rise up as the Romanians did against Ceacuscu (sp), there will continue to be more such horrific events.
I agree with you, a dead Israeli private is worth more than a live terrostinian general.
The ONLY way I’d be OK with this is if they gave each terrorist an apendectomy, replaced the void with a remotely detonated high explosive, set them off in two weeks, and blame the explosions on “palescumian work accidents.”
Yes but a live terrorist general, if released, could very well end up being responsible for the deaths of many more Israeli privates.
I keep wondering when people are going to realize that it doesn’t pay to take terrorist prisoners. Just cut ‘em down and be done with it.
You can view it as appeasement, if those are my soldiers being held by the enemy, I will to bring them home.
If I allowed them to be captured, then that is my mistake.
But deserting them to the enemy forever is destroying their bond to the nation.
Why are US forensics teams still searching the jungles of Vietnam for our MIA/KIA?
Yes, it would be acceptable if you were trading dead terrorists for dead soldiers, but trading live enemy terrorists for your own dead soldiers is very wrong. This will only encourage the terrorists. If you doubt me, just look at the celebrations going within Hezbollah and within the PA over this deal. I do not see any celebrations within Israel over this deal?
“The murderers Israel releases prove that Olmert does
not value the lives of Israelis at all.”
If I were a gambler, I’d put money on them not living very long.
“just look at the celebrations going within Hezbollah and within the PA over this deal.”
Let them celebrate. It may be the last ‘celebration’ they have.
Nice president: yours alive for ours dead.
If that was my body, I’d be very angry and I’d hope my living relatives were too. I gave my life for my country and the cabinet was doing their best to make my sacrifice meaningless? I’d haunt the crap out of them!
Yes, it would be acceptable if you were trading dead terrorists for dead soldiers, but trading live enemy terrorists for your own dead soldiers is very wrong. This will only encourage the terrorists. If you doubt me, just look at the celebrations going within Hezbollah and within the PA over this deal. I do not see any celebrations within Israel over this deal?
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I agree.
Why should the Arabs value the life of anyone they capture anymore?
When Israel recaptured Jerusalem, the Arabs reckoned the Israelis loco when they didn’t detonate the Dome on the Rock and then LET the Arabs have control of it.
The Arabs reasoned that Allah (Satan) blinded the Israelis into this, and this encouraged them in the face of what seemed like a tragic loss.
The Koran/Quran says zip, zero, nada about the Jews returning to their land and controlling it. The Bible on the other hand says plenty about it.
That’s why the Arabs can’t bring themselves to call Israel anything but a “Zionist entity.” It’s existence is strong evidence for the Bible being true, and the Koran/Quran being just another book.
Handing corpses for the living is stupid. The Israelis should have shot every last Arab in custody to demonstrate that killing Israelis will NOT be tolerated.
For evidence that the Bible is the Word of God, please see http://www.direct.ca/trinity/y3nf.html
ping
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