In years past, we've looked upon Israel as a staunch defender against terrorism. Alas, today we can say that no more. A horribly lopsided prisoner swap occurred in which Israel gave Hezbollah five terrorists in return for the bodies of two soldiers. Mind you, the terrorists given in the exchange weren't just petty men. One of them, the brutal Samir Kantar, is one of the most despicable people I have ever heard of. He killed a man in front of the man's four year old daughter, then not satisfied, killed the four year old girl by smashing in her skull in with the butt of his rifle. This man didn't deserve to breathe let alone be placed in jail, and then released nearly 30 years later. As in the past, all that negotiating with terrorists will do is breed more terrorism:
"What we've done now has made kidnapping soldiers the most profitable game in town," said Israeli security expert Martin Sherman. That Israel paid such a high price for dead bodies could provide an incentive for militants to kill future hostages, said Yuval Steinitz, a lawmaker from the opposition Likud Party. "This is a very dangerous precedent," he said. "We are telling them that they don't have to do their utmost to keep captive soldiers alive, to save them if captured."
If all the terrorists need to do is kidnap Israeli soldiers, kill them, and then give back the dead bodies for living terrorists, what do they have to lose? Israel needs to change the policies involved in this. If they wanted to crack down on Hezbollah, after receiving the two bodies, they should have simply killed 200 terrorists, in a show of "good faith." Sadly, the Israelis are on the defensive now, rather than the offensive, and being a tiny blip on the map in the middle east, with every other nation gunning for you does not bode well for them. It makes me wonder now, if the talk about Iran is simply that - talk.
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