Israel’s Strategic Blunder

June 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under International Affairs, Israel and Palestinians | 2 Comments 

The Israeli cabinet’s decision to release a notorious, unrepentant terrorist in exchange for the bodies of captured soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev — whom Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hoped might be alive when negotiations began but now knows are dead — was an enormous strategic blunder, no matter how comforting it will be to the soldiers’ families to know their fate for sure and have them home.

In return, the Israelis agreed to release Lebanese-born Samir Kantar, who murdered two police officers and three members of an Israeli family during a raid in the Northern city of Narahiya in 1979. Smadar Haran Kaider, the widow and mother who saw her family brutally murdered, recounts their last moments in a 2003 op-ed in the Washington Post:

As police began to arrive, the terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl’s skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar. By the time we were rescued from the crawl space, hours later, Yael, too, was dead. In trying to save all our lives, I had smothered her.

Once freed, Kantar may be back at work. Here’s a portion of a letter he wrote to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah:

“My dear and respectable master and commander,” Kuntar wrote in the letter to Nasrallah. “Peace be with you and with our shahids (martyrs).

“I give you my promise and oath that my only place will be in the fighting front soaked with the sweat of your giving and with the blood of the shahids, the dearest people, and that I will continue your way until we reach a full victory. I send my best wishes and promise of renewed loyalty to you, sir, and to all the Jihad fighters.”

In Gaza, the Hamas regime, holding Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, undoubtedly realizes that the value of its currency has increased. As the AP reports,

In exchange for Schalit, Hamas has demanded freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, though Barghouti is not known to be on the list. Israel, which is holding about 10,000 Palestinians, has refused to free prisoners involved in deadly attacks. However, in recent days Israeli leaders have been talking about paying a “painful price” for the soldier, signaling a possible change. On Monday, after the Israel-Hezbollah deal was approved, Gaza militants took a hard line. “Schalit will not see the light until the Israelis fulfill our demands,” said Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, another armed group involved in his capture. “The (Israeli) occupation’s decision to release Samir Kantar will pave the way for the release of Palestinian prisoners who are serving lengthy sentence.

By swapping land, Israel hoped to achieve peace but guaranteed more war. Swapping prisoners, the result will be the same. As for Sen. Obama, here’s hoping that he learns from Israel’s experience how not to negotiate with an adversary like Iran.

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