'I am torn between freeing hostages and protecting Israelis'

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday met with the families of fallen IDF soldiers and with relatives of terror victims and told them he is torn about the deal to free abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

"I face two vital principles - the desire to free hostages and the desire to protect Israeli citizens from an attack in the future," Netanyahu told the families.

The families, who met with Netanyahu in wake of the progress being made in the negotiations with Hamas, expressed opposition to the prisoner exchange deal being negotiated with the Islamist group because they warn that convicted Palestinians Israel would release could initiate more deadly attacks.

Shalit was kidnapped by Gaza militants in a 2006 cross-border raid, and Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of prisoners in exchange for his freedom.


Netanyahu said he had taken note of the families warning.

After the meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, Netanyahu told the families that his meeting with them was important to him on both the personal and national level.

Under a proposed deal, about 1,000 of some 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails would be released.

Officials familiar with the talks said Israel was intent on barring Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis from returning to the West Bank, which is close to Israeli population centers. They might instead be sent to the Gaza Strip or foreign countries.

Hamas had accepted that some released prisoners would be exiled but wanted them to be able to choose their destinations, the officials said.

It was unclear whether Israel had dropped its opposition to freeing 20 top militants whose release Hamas has demanded. Israel says they are responsible for dozens of deaths.

Netanyahu discussed a swap with senior ministers, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, on Monday, while Shalit's family, joined by demonstrators seeking his release, held a vigil outside the Israeli leader's office.

The Shalit family returned to its home in Mitzpeh Hila late Monday.

A member of the campaign for Shalit's release said that Netanyahu's instructions to continue negotiations "indicates progress. The family and the campaign still hope the prime minister will make the decision to see Gilad Shalit freed as soon as possible."

Israel gave the German mediator its response late Monday, after senior cabinet ministers held marathon talks at Netanyahu's office. No further details were immediately available.

The top-level meetings ended shortly after midnight without an announcement of a decision over whether the forum of seven, comprising Netanyahu and six other senior cabinet ministers, had decided to accept or reject Hamas' offer.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau said Tuesday, however, that the ministers were not expected to convene again at this stage.

The Hamas government was scheduled to hold its weekly meeting later Tuesday, and the deal was likely on the agenda, said a group official.

The forum of seven convened after nightfall Monday for the fifth consecutive meeting on the issue over the last two days in a frenzy of activity that suggested a deal could be close.

The group was divided, however, with some ministers opposed freeing Palestinians convicted in fatal attacks, arguing they could kill again.

After more than four hours of talks, Netanyahu's office released a statement saying only that instructions were given to the negotiating team about the continuation of efforts to bring Shalit home safe and sound.

The forum of seven deals with sensitive security affairs, and is made up of Netanyahu (Likud); Barak (Labor); Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu); Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin (Likud); Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon (Likud); Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas); and Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor (Likud).

Bereaved parents: Shalit swap like deal with Hitler

Bereaved parents demand to appear before government in bid to avert release of hundreds of terrorists as part of Shalit deal; letter compares deal to Munich Agreement between Britain, Nazi Germany

Ynet reporters
Published: 12.21.09, 16:35 / Israel News

Bereaved parents hoping to stop the release of terrorists in an exchange deal for captive soldier Gilad Shalit are demanding to meet with the forum of seven senior ministers before they make a decision on the deal.

"We demand to speak before the ministers who spoke at the open graves of our children and swore not to repeat the mistakes of the past, before they vote on the execution of a deal," the parents said.

Two representatives of the Haifa bereaved fathers' organization the "Three Fathers," Yossi Mendelevitch and Dov Sion, made their way to the Prime Minister's Office in order to deliver their letter to him.

In their letter, the bereaved fathers compare the agreement to the Munich Agreement signed by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Hitler's Nazi Germany in March 1938, which permitted German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

"Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a historic move that will determine his fate – will he be remembered as one who led a line of security for his citizens, or will he be eternally disgraced as one who gave in to the enemies of the State and abandoned his citizens to the mercy of terror organizations?" The parents wrote.

"Netanyahu must not repeat the critical mistakes of the past. Anyone who is willing to give in should study the Chamberlain affair; his submission led to the outbreak of the Second World War. Netanyahu is about to surrender to Hamas and enable the next kidnapping and the next war," the letter continued.

'Running towards abyss'

In their letter, the parents claim that all parties involved in the deal know that it is not good for Israel. "Anyone can see that we are walking, or running, with our eyes wide open towards the abyss, with some of us wishing to stop and some of us hoping to make it to the bottom alive…Not everyone will remain alive after such an adventure, which the Israeli government is imposing on its citizens."

At the end of the letter the parents make their demand to have their voices heard before a decision is made: "The ministers must understand the meaning of their decisions, they must face us and hear what the families who have lost their children in terror attacks are going through, terror attack the likes of which are in store for us with the release of murderers in a deal."

"It is basic decency that we be allowed to express our opinion before those who are slated to determine our fate and the fate of our children."

The bereaved parents made a several attempts in recent weeks to delay a deal that would include the release of terrorists, including a failed petition to the High Court of Justice, as well as personal attacks on Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Ahiya Raved, Efrat Weiss, Aviad Glickman, Amnon Meranda, Ronen Medzini, and Naama Lanir contributed to the story