Minister Blasts Shalit Deal as ‘Great Victory for Terrorism’
National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said Wednesday that the prisoner swap agreement reached between Israel and Hamas to free Gilad Shalit was a “great victory for terrorism.”
Landau was one of three ministers who voted against the proposal early Wednesday morning. Joining Landau were Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon of Likud. Twenty-six ministers voted in favor of the deal, which would see Shalit, the IDF soldier who has been in Hamas captivity for the last five years, return to Israel.
“On the one hand of the scales you have Gilad Shalit – the Israeli soldier who was abducted because in all the preceding years there were many terrorists that were released and created incentives for his abduction. Opposite that, you know that if, as a result of this agreement, many terrorists are released, there is a tremendous incentive to murder Israelis and abduct additional (Israelis),” said Landau.
Prior to Landau’s comments, families who lost loved ones in terror attacks over the years expressed difficult feelings in response to the apparent approval of the Shalit deal. Ron Karman, who lost his daughter, Tal, in a terror attack on bus number 37 in Haifa in 2003 told Haaretz, “I am happy for the (Shalit) family, but fear for the security of the citizens of Israel. It’s terrifying to hear the names on the list that has been known for five years.”
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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