Israel’s release of more than 400 Palestinian terrorist-related prisoners this week in exchange for three Israeli soldiers and the victim of a Hezbollah kidnapping will encourage more abductions, says an observer of the Palestinian media.
“Confirming Israel’s fears, the Palestinian media has cited numerous PA sources expressing the sentiment that Hezbollah has created the precedent, and the ‘resistance’ is more effective than negotiations,” said Itamar Marcus, director of Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch.
Marcus said Arafat’s Fatah “emphasized the necessity to follow in the footsteps of the act of Hezbollah, so that all prisoners and detainees will be released.”
Citing the Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, Marcus said the minister for prisoners and detainees affairs, Hisham Abdul-Raziq, expressed joy at the completion of Hezbollah’s exchange with the Israeli government.
A spokesman for the relatives of prisoners in Israeli jails, Halid Al-Hatib, said: “The government of Israel, by reaching this agreement, sends the Palestinians a message, which indicates that the releasing of your prisoners will not happen through negotiations.”
Palestinian National Council member Basam Abu Sharif thanked Hezbollah for its action, describing it as a “Pan-Arab” success, deserving respect.
The Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad described the deal as “an achievement.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah told Agence France-Presse: “This deal confirms that the resistance is a realistic and a practical option, which is capable of achievements to liberate the land and people.”
The wife of prisoner Nafiz Haraz, a resident of Gaza who served 19 years of his life sentence, said “every single prisoner who is released is an achievement for us and a victory for the resistance.”
“We thank [Hezbollah leader] Shiek Nasrallah for this important achievement of releasing prisoners,” she said. “He is the hawk of the Arabs … .”
Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah commented: “The [Palestinian] citizens believe that Hezbollah’s action opened a new door of hope for the families of the prisoners, after it was closed during the [discussions of] political solutions between the [Palestinian] National Authority and Israel, which did not lead to any practical results Ö .”
The paper said the military branch of Arafat’s Fatah movement organized a civil and military parade Wednesday in Rafah “to express appreciation and gratitude for the efforts made by Hezbollah” in the prisoner deal.
The Fatah military branch issued a manifesto, the daily said, which “emphasized the necessity to follow in the footsteps of the act of Hezbollah, so that all prisoners and detainees will be released.”
Not that this was a particularly difficult prediction.
