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| By israelinsider staff April 19, 2007 |
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Forty-nine families of terror victims announced that they plan on boycotting Memorial Day next week in protest of the prisoner exchange deal currently being discussed for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Ben Zion Ben-Shoham, whose sister was murdered in a Jerusalem cafe suicide bombing five years ago, explained, "The terrorists responsible for my sister's murder will strike again. If not all, then some."
He continued, "Only a week ago it was reported that 35 people were murdered by terrorists who had been released in the Tannenbaum deal, so this issue must be considered rationally, not emotionally.
"People close their eyes and say: Gilad must be brought back home. I'm with them but not this way. He may be released, but hundreds of others will die. Anyway, as long as we don't know where he is or receive a sign of life from him, we must not talk to them or enable family visits to the Palestinian murderers imprisoned in Israel," Ben-Shoham said.
The families have requested a meeting with the Prime Minister, but to no avail. They have met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, as well as several other ministers.
The boycott is not being supported by all families of terror victims. According to Meir Eindor of Almagor Terror Victims Association, some families believe that Memorial Day is a day when they must make their voices heard, but not by boycotting the holiday.
Zion Savari, who lost his daughter, son and son-in-law in a terror attack on Road 443 disagrees with the boycott. He said, "These are ceremonies to commemorate our children. There is no place to boycott them. We have disagreements with the government and can protest, but regardless of these commemoration ceremonies.
"At this stage, Olmert is taking quite a firm stand about the prisoners. Had it been Sharon, there would have been cause to demonstrate. He released prisoners in the past. But Olmert hasn't freed a single terrorist so far. What we must do is end their comfortable conditions in jail, stop their family visits until Shalit's family is permitted to visit him," he added.
Almagor reports that 80 percent of the Palestinian terrorists who have been released from prison resumed terror activities once they are released. Security sources dispute that figure, arguing that only about 25 percent of the released prisoners took up terror activity.
Eindor says that among the prisoners who returned to terrorism upon their release are Palestinians responsible for the suicide bombing on Passover in a Netanya hotel in 2002, the bombing in Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem in 2003, attacks in the West Bank settlements of Adora and Carmei Tzur, the Afula bus terminal, and many others. |
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