By Joel Himelfarb
Make no mistake about it: the recent prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah is a victory for Iran and its allies. The crux of the deal is this: Hezbollah gained the release of five imprisoned Lebanese terrorists in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah in a July 12, 2006, cross-border raid that triggered the 2006 war with the Jewish State. The most immediate impact will be to embolden another Iranian-backed terror group: Hamas, which says it will drive a harder bargain for the return of Israel Defense Force Corporal Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Hamas in a June 25, 2006, cross-border raid into southern Israel. As a Hamas source told the Israeli Ynet.com news service: "The deal proves that patience and fortitude will lead to us seeing celebrations here [in Gaza] similar to those in Lebanon."
The prisoner exchange occurred two weeks before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement that he will not be a candidate for re-election, and it is another reminder of his regrettable geopolitical legacy: Olmert's failure to defeat Hezbollah in the Lebanon war two years ago has helped create an emboldened, more dangerous terrorist group. Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak told Vice President Cheney last Monday that the number of missiles in Hezbollah's possession has doubled or tripled since the war two years ago, and their range has been extended significantly. Barak acknowledged the obvious: that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - the ceasefire resolution which followed the 2006 fighting - did not work. The unavoidable conclusion: Under Olmert's leadership, Israel failed in Lebanon, and last month's prisoner exchange was just the latest chapter of failure there. The highlight of the Israel-Hezbollah exchange was the release of Lebanese Samir Kuntar - who carried out one of the most barbaric terrorist attacks in the history of the Arab-israeli conflict. Kuntar was part of a terror squad which infiltrated the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on April 22, 1979. The terrorists shot and killed a policeman, then broke into an apartment and dragged Danny Haran, a young father, and his 4-year-old daughter onto the beach. Kuntar shot Haran to death in front of the child before smashing her skull with his rifle, killing her as well. The child's mother, who had been hiding in closet during the terrorists' rampage, accidentally smothered her infant to death in an attempt to keep him quiet. Read more ...
Make no mistake about it: the recent prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah is a victory for Iran and its allies. The crux of the deal is this: Hezbollah gained the release of five imprisoned Lebanese terrorists in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah in a July 12, 2006, cross-border raid that triggered the 2006 war with the Jewish State. The most immediate impact will be to embolden another Iranian-backed terror group: Hamas, which says it will drive a harder bargain for the return of Israel Defense Force Corporal Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Hamas in a June 25, 2006, cross-border raid into southern Israel. As a Hamas source told the Israeli Ynet.com news service: "The deal proves that patience and fortitude will lead to us seeing celebrations here [in Gaza] similar to those in Lebanon."
The prisoner exchange occurred two weeks before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement that he will not be a candidate for re-election, and it is another reminder of his regrettable geopolitical legacy: Olmert's failure to defeat Hezbollah in the Lebanon war two years ago has helped create an emboldened, more dangerous terrorist group. Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak told Vice President Cheney last Monday that the number of missiles in Hezbollah's possession has doubled or tripled since the war two years ago, and their range has been extended significantly. Barak acknowledged the obvious: that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - the ceasefire resolution which followed the 2006 fighting - did not work. The unavoidable conclusion: Under Olmert's leadership, Israel failed in Lebanon, and last month's prisoner exchange was just the latest chapter of failure there. The highlight of the Israel-Hezbollah exchange was the release of Lebanese Samir Kuntar - who carried out one of the most barbaric terrorist attacks in the history of the Arab-israeli conflict. Kuntar was part of a terror squad which infiltrated the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on April 22, 1979. The terrorists shot and killed a policeman, then broke into an apartment and dragged Danny Haran, a young father, and his 4-year-old daughter onto the beach. Kuntar shot Haran to death in front of the child before smashing her skull with his rifle, killing her as well. The child's mother, who had been hiding in closet during the terrorists' rampage, accidentally smothered her infant to death in an attempt to keep him quiet. Read more ...
Source: Family Security Matters