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Prisoner Releases Are a Terror Victim’s Nightmare

Gilad Shalit salutes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after prisoner exchange deal in Oct. 2011. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.orgI knew this day would come. Ever since Israel began to release prisoners as a “goodwill” measure and for hostages, I knew that the time would come when terrorists with “blood on their hands” would be released.

As if the result of freeing terror prisoners in 2011 in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for five years, wasn’t enough of a warning, the next round of releases will be just as troublesome for Israelis.

Following the murder of my daughter Alisa in a 1995 terror attack in Kfar Darom, Israel was able to capture, convict and sentence to life in prison some of the terrorists involved in her death. While they sit today in a maximum-security prison under life sentences, I am sure they are smiling more than usual because of the potential of their being included in the list of those soon-to-be released prisoners.

Sure, the Israeli hostage families are delighted over the prospect of being united with their loved ones who have been held captive for more than a year in indescribable conditions below ground in Gaza. I’m delighted, too, that families will be reunited, but my joy is tempered by knowing that these terrorists are being turned loose to commit terror again.

This is not my first experience coping with Israel’s determination to release prisoners. Twice before in the last 25 years when prisoner releases were being carried out, I eagerly sought the list of prisoners being released. And when I did get it, I carefully combed the list of Arabic names transliterated into Hebrew looking for the names Nidal Moustafa Bouri, Ahmed Douad Abu Dachi, Maram Ibrahim Salameh and Al-Halim Saheb Omar Balbasi, each serving life sentences for the Kfar Darom bombing. Unlike the United States, Israel does not have a death penalty for terrorists.

There are good reasons to not release convicted terrorists. While such decisions are often driven by diplomatic, security or humanitarian considerations, they carry significant risks and negative implications. The current deal to release prisoners is harmful to Israel, and, in the long run, Western society for several reasons.

The release of prisoners diminishes Israel’s deterrence against terrorism. If it is Israel’s policy of harsh consequences for those who commit acts of terror to deter potential attackers, releasing such prisoners undermines this goal, signaling to its enemies that even those responsible for the deaths of innocent citizens may eventually be freed. The perception of accountability is weakened.

The release of terrorists emboldens groups such as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad to commit terror attacks, believing that the price for their actions may not be permanent incarceration. When prisoners with blood on their hands are released, it is celebrated as a victory by terrorist organizations. They portray such releases as evidence of their strength and ability to pressure Israel. Public celebrations, parades and glorification of released prisoners not only boost the morale of these organizations but also strengthen their standing among supporters. This can lead to increased recruitment, fundraising and operational activity, thereby escalating threats to Israeli security.

Releasing prisoners, particularly those convicted of murder, can erode public trust in the government and judicial system as it is viewed as undermining the rule of law. Many Israelis feel that such decisions betray the memory of victims and the principles of justice. Victims and the families of victims often bear lifelong scars—both physical and emotional. The outrage and anguish are palpable. We feel that they and their loved ones’ suffering has been tossed aside for political expediency.

Perhaps the most dangerous consequence of releasing prisoners with blood on their hands is the potential to incentivize kidnappings and hostage-taking. Terrorist organizations have historically used Israeli captives as leverage to negotiate the release of prisoners. For example, the 2011 exchange of more than 1,000 prisoners, including many with blood on their hands, for Shalit set a precedent that such tactics can yield significant results.

Case in point: Yahya Sinwar, the orchestrator of the Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath, was serving multiple life sentences for orchestrating the murders of both Israelis and Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. Released in the Shalit prisoner exchange, he ascended to a leadership position within Hamas, becoming its de facto leader in Gaza until he was killed by the Israel Defense Forces last year.

As David M. Weinberg, senior fellow and director of the Jerusalem-based Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, wrote last year, “The danger of mass-releasing Palestinian terrorists is clear. A deal that frees vicious murderers of Israeli Jews … in exchange for Israel’s innocent suffering hostages endangers even more Israeli lives down the road—and that road is not notably long.”

The post Prisoner Releases Are a Terror Victim’s Nightmare first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Moves Patriot Missile Batteries from South Korea to Middle East

A Patriot missile battery. Photo: IDF.

i24 NewsAmerican Patriot missile defense batteries will be moved from South Korea to the Middle East, according to reports in Asian media on Friday, amid speculation over a potential military action against Iran’s nuclear program and escalating bombardments of Iran-backed jihadists in Yemen.

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program, and the United States has moved additional warplanes into the region.

Washington and Seoul have reportedly recently agreed on the “monthslong” partial deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, in what is understood to be the first known case involving the relocation of United States Forces Korea (USFK) assets to the Middle East.

Iran in recent years has largely dropped the pretense of enriching uranium for a civilian atomic energy program, as it’s reportedly teetering on the nuclear precipice. Israel believes that a nuclear Iran represents a grave existential threat, consistent with the exterminationist antisemitism of the Islamic Republic’s anti-Israel rhetoric.

After the election of Trump, a known Iran hawk, the likelihood of an U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has increased precipitously.

The post US Moves Patriot Missile Batteries from South Korea to Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Iranian Plot to Assassinate Azerbaijani Rabbi Foiled

The Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

i24 NewsIran enlisted the services of a Georgian drug trafficker to carry out an assassination of a prominent Azerbaijani rabbi, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing security officials.

The plot to murder Rabbi Shneor Segal, foiled by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in early January, also involved a plan to attack a Jewish education center, the officials said.

The plot was set in motion by an officer with Iran’s Quds Force, who met with Georgian criminal Agil Aslanov, handing him a photo of Segal and detailed instructions on how to murder him, the officials cited by WaPo said. Aslanov’s fee for the foiled hit was $200,000.

The State Security Service said the two men “worked to collect information about a member of a religious community, and sent the location of his residence and workplace to a representative of a foreign special service agency via the appropriate mobile phone application.”

Iran is known to be behind multiple plots against Israeli and Jewish targets, many of which have been foiled by Israeli and foreign security services.

However a recent plot saw three citizens of Uzbekistan murder an Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates on Iranian orders. The three were sentenced to death earlier this week for the murder of Zvi Kogan in November.

The post Report: Iranian Plot to Assassinate Azerbaijani Rabbi Foiled first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Netanyahu to Depart for Washington on Sunday Directly from Hungary to Meet with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 NewsIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart to Washington DC on Sunday directly from Hungary—where he is presently on an official visit—to meet with US President Donald Trump, i24NEWS learned on Saturday from an Israeli source.

The visit comes following a phone conversation between the leaders on Friday, and a call with State Secretary Marco Rubio a short while ago.

As a result, the planned visit to Washington of Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz will be postponed once again.

Topics of discussion between the two leaders are expected to include the possible military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Gaza war and the future of the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, the US bombing campaign against Iran-backed Houthi jihadists in Yemen, and the recent imposition of tariffs on Israeli products.

The post Netanyahu to Depart for Washington on Sunday Directly from Hungary to Meet with Trump first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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