The Almagor terror victims’ organization is accusing the government of joining the PA (Palestinian Authority) “media spin” intended to obtain the release of terrorists.

Meir Indor, the organization’s leader stated that recent statements by government officials referring to demands to release terrorists Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa’adat in order to obtain the release of Gilad Shalit is a PA move to obtain the release of additional terrorists in a prisoner exchange deal.

Indor added that the statements by officials rejecting the “new Palestinian demands” is nothing more than a media spin intended to divert attention from the reality that Israel plans to capitulate to terror and release a large number of terrorists.

Members of terror organizations who were released from Israeli custody after being defined as not having “blood on their hands” perpetrated 14 terror attacks in the past several years. In them, 132 Israeli civilians were killed and many others were injured, according to a report released over the weekend by the Almagor Terror Victims Association.

The organization said that from 1993-99, Israel released 6,912 terrorists in the context of various confidence-building gestures, some of whom returned to terror activities “at the cost of huge destruction of life.”

Almagor yesterday called on the Israeli public “not to be led astray by formulations that take the terrorists’ murderousness lightly” and “not to console ourselves with the hope that the next terror attack will not hurt us or our immediate surroundings.”

The organization issued a list of 14 major attacks carried out or engineered by released terrorists, including the 2002 Park Hotel attack in Netanya (29 killed, 155 injured), the 2002 Karkur Junction attack (14 killed, 42 injured), the suicide attack at Jerusalem’s Cafit Cafe (11 killed, 20 injured), and the 2003 suicide attack at Cafe Hillel, also in Jerusalem, in which seven people were killed and many more were injured.

Yesterday morning Almagor held a protest vigil of families of terror victims, across from the Prime Minister’s Office in the capital.

Among the protesters was Debra Appelbaum, whose husband, Dr. David Appelbaum, and 20-year-old daughter Nava were killed in the Cafe Hillel attack.

The Almagor terror victims’ association issued a statement against the European Union (EU), calling the now-forming PA (Palestinian Authority) coalition government a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

The terror victims’ organization was responding to a statement by EU Foreign Minister Javier Solana who favors ending the economic sanctions against the PA as a result of Fatah entering the government.

Members of terror organizations who were released from Israeli custody after being defined as not having “blood on their hands” perpetrated 14 terror attacks in the past several years. In them, 132 Israeli civilians were killed and many others were injured, according to a report released over the weekend by the Almagor Terror Victims Association.

The organization said that from 1993-99, Israel released 6,912 terrorists in the context of various confidence-building gestures, some of whom returned to terror activities “at the cost of huge destruction of life.”

Almagor on Sunday called on the Israeli public “not to be led astray by formulations that take the terrorists’ murderousness lightly” and “not to console ourselves with the hope that the next terror attack will not hurt us or our immediate surroundings.”

The organization issued a list of 14 major attacks carried out or engineered by released terrorists, including the 2002 Park Hotel attack in Netanya (29 killed, 155 injured), the 2002 Karkur Junction attack (14 killed, 42 injured), the suicide attack at Jerusalem’s Cafit Cafe (11 killed, 20 injured), and the 2003 suicide attack at Cafe Hillel, also in Jerusalem, in which seven people were killed and many more were injured.

Sunday morning Almagor held a protest vigil of families of terror victims, across from the Prime Minister’s Office in the capital.

Among the protesters was Debra Appelbaum, whose husband, Dr. David Appelbaum, and 20-year-old daughter Nava were killed in the Cafe Hillel attack.

Following military sources’ announcement that kidnapped soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit is alive and Israel may consider releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for him, several families whose members were hurt by terror attacks held an emergency assembly outside the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a request to not allow the “prisoner swap.”

Meir Eindor, director of Almagor Terror Victims Association, said: “We are very worried by the Arab media reports, and especially by Olmert’s statements that he wants to release prisoners in any case in order to ‘strengthen Mahmoud Abbas’. His statements reveal that he is planning on preparing the public opinion for the terrorists’ release.”

He further added: “Olmert is kicking dirt in the public’s eyes, because the whole public, aside from Olmert and including the Palestinians, knows that it is a Hamas victory. First, Hamas kidnaps, then it is rewarded by our government for it. The attempt to represent this to the public as a release of terrorists into the hands of Mahmoud Abbas is a way of masquerading a bad act as being good, and not only as a farce that makes the other side laugh.”

’80 Percent of Prisoners Go Back to Terrorism’

Aryeh Bachrach, the father of Ohad who was murdered in Wadi Kelt, joined the protest: “As bereaved parents, we have already paid the price for such suspicious deals in the past, and this is why we want to express our opposition to it.”

“The first intifada began with the Jibril prisoners’ release; and ‘Hizbulland’ is now forming in the northern Samaria because of (Elhanan) Tennenbaum’s prisoners’ release deal. This means that the release of terrorists will cause more Jewish victims.

Bereaved parents: ‘My child was lost in vain’ (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

“It is also wrong from a logical aspect. In the last war, over 100 soldiers fought for the captives’ release. So what have we achieved? If we could have done a prisoners’ swap before the war, what’s the logic in starting it? The statement of the release of terrorists ‘with no blood on their hands’ is cynical and ridiculous. These terrorists have no blood on their hands not because they love the land of Israel, but because they failed on the first try. The government wants to give them a second one.”

Bachrach added that former Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein said that 80 percent of the released prisoners resume terrorist activity after their release.

“This means that the State of Israel is about to release over 1,000 prisoners, 800 of whom will return to terrorism. We are causing our own genocide. This is what we are struggling against,” he said,

Bilha Greenfeld, the mother of Yehuda who was killed during the war in Lebanon, said: “Every time, soldiers are being kidnapped again and again. If one of our captives is worth 1,000 terrorists, then why did we have this war? We have to find other ways. This way proved futile.”

“I understand the mothers of the captives, I wouldn’t like to be in their place, but we will return her son to her, and the son of someone else will be kidnapped. I paid a heavy price for the captives’ release who were not released at the end. I feel as though my child was lost in vain,” she concluded.

The Almagor Terror Victims Organization said that “the words of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah demand self-examination by the Israeli media. Primarily those news agencies who almost switched sides in the continuing war on terror.”

Earlier, Nasrallah said that “certain Israeli stations treated me more fairly than certain Lebanese stations.”

A terror victims group published a report Thursday on Arab security prisoners “without blood on their hands,” who were released by Israel and returned to prison with “much blood on their hands.”

The report, by the Almagor Terror Victims Association, demonstrates that at least 14 of the major terrorist attacks in recent years were carried out by terrorists released from prison in the context of various “good will gestures” and Israeli prisoner deals. All of them were released with assurances to the public that they did not have “blood on their hands,” – a euphemism for those prisoners whose deadly attacks failed to prove fatal.

Between the years 1993–1999, in the context of “confidence building measures” and prisoner deals, Israel released 6,912 terrorists. 854 of them (14%) were arrested subsequently for murder, attempted or otherwise. There are no statistics available for those who returned to non-fatal terrorist activities, instruction or logistical support.

“The mass killing due to these attacks included 123 murdered Israeli citizens, a huge number of victims with disabilities due to the attack and many other victims,” the report concludes. “In all the previous death-bargains, the overwhelming majority of those released returned to terrorist activities, at the cost of a huge destruction of life.”

A sampling of the report:

Karim Ratteb Younis Awis – released in the context of a ‘good will gesture’:

• November 27, 2001: Carried out shooting attack near Afula, murdering Michal Mor and Noam Guzofsky.
• March 21, 2002: Dispatched a female suicide bomber to Jerusalem’s King George Street, murdering three Israelis, Yitzchak Cohen and Gadi and Tzipora Shemesh – 81 more were wounded.

Nasser Abu Hamiyad – released as part of the Oslo Accords:

• Took part in Ramallah lynch, mutilating bodies of IDF reservists Vadim Norzitz and Yossi Avrahami
• February 25, 2002: Initiated attack on Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood, murdering a female police officers and wounding 10.
• March 5, 2002: Responsible for attack on Seafood Market in Tel Aviv, murdering Israelis Eliyahu Dahan and Yossi Havi, wounding 31.

Abbas ibn Muhammad Alsayd – released in 1996; had a part in three Netanya attacks:

• March 4, 2001: Dispatched Herzl street suicide bombing, murdering Naftali Din, Shlomit Ziv, Yvgeni Malkin and wounding 56.
• May 18, 2001: Responsible for suicide bombing of HaSharon Mall in Netanya, murdering Miriam Wachsman, Yulia Tartiakov, David (Moti) Yarkoni, Vladislov Sorokin and Tirza Tishbi, and wounding 86.
• Helped plan and carry out Park Hotel Passover massacre, murdering 29 and wounding 155.

Ramez Sali Abu Salim – released February 20, 2003:

• Just seven months after release, on September 9: Blew himself up at Jerusalem’s Café Hillel, murdering David Shimon Avizdris, Yehiel Emil Toubol, Shafik Karem, Alon Mizrachi, Gila Moshe, Dr. David Yaakov Appelbaum and his daughter Nava – one the eve of her wedding.

Fuad Kawasme – released December 2002:

• Less than half a year later, on May 18, 2003, shot Kiryat Arba residents Gadi and Dina Levi to death near Gross Square in Hevron.

Jihad Alamrin – released as part of the Jibril deal in 1985:

• Founded the Al Aksa Brigades terror group in Gaza
• Planted explosives that killed IDF soldiers Cpl. Asher Zagori, Cpl. Moshe Peled, Cpl. Ron Lavi, Cpl. Matan Biderman and others.

Salah Shahadeh – released in 2000:

• January 9, 2002: Oversaw infiltration into IDF’s Africa Lookout, killing four soldiers.
• March 7, 2002: Shooting attack at Atzmona pre-military academy, murdering Ariel Zaga, Baruch Marcus, Eran Pikar, Aharon Krugliak and Tal Kutzweil.

Iyad Sawalha – released as part of the Wye Agreement in 1998:

• June 5, 2002: Responsible for bus bombing at Megiddo Junction, murdering 17 and wounding 42.
• October 21, 2002: Blew up jeep near Egged bus at Karkur Junction, murdering 14 and wounding 42.

Khalil Hamza Abu Roub – released the final time in 1996:

• September 18, 2002: Organized Umm El Fahm Junction bombing, murdering officer Yossi Ajami and wounding one seriously.
• December 26, 2002: Tried to shoot and kill IDF soldiers attempting to apprehend him. He was killed in the process.

Mahmoud Hamdan – released after serving just 14 months of a lengthy sentence in July 2003:

• September 26, 2003: Two months after his release, he infiltrated the Hevron Hills town of Negohot, murdering Ayal Yaverboim and slaying a baby, Shaked Avraham.

Nidal Salameh – released during Israel-PA talks in 1999:

• Following his release he took leadership role in PFLP terrorist group – responsible for southern Gaza. Oversaw dozens of attacks

Louei Raad Barghouti – released August 2003 as “good-will gesture” to Mahmoud Abbas:

• Planned and oversaw attack at Tzrifin IDF base bus stop, murdering eight.
• Involved in planning of Café Hillel attack.

Morad Kawasme – released January 29, 2004 in return for kidnapped Israeli Elchanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of three missing soldiers:

• Became senior Hamas commander in Hevron and shot at soldiers who came to arrest him after he oversaw several attacks.

The report was dispatched to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and interim Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit.

The umbrella organization is made up of families of slain terror victims and others affected personally by Islamic terrorism in Israel. They are issuing a call to the government to refuse to release terrorists in return for the three IDF soldiers being held by Hamas and Hizbullah.

Israel should not pay “any price” to win the return of its abducted soldiers, the chairman of the Terror Victims Association, Meir Indor, argued recently.

In a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Indor noted that some acts of terror “have been committed by freed terrorists” and warned that a wholesale release of terrorists, such as Israel has done in the past, “will result in more abductions.” According to Indor, abductions are becoming a prime weapon for terrorist organizations, and “every release increases their belief that the system works.”

“What is the use of one release, when we thereby bring many citizens into the circle of immediate risk?” he asked.

Attached to Indor’s letter was a list of terror victims killed by released prisoners. These included Hagar Ben-Ovadia, murdered in East Jerusalem by two Fatah men released in the 1985 Jibril deal, who were caught only after they killed an Italian tourist six months later; and Eyal Yeverboim, 27, and seven-month-old Shaked Avraham, who were murdered by terrorists who had been released two months earlier in order to “strengthen” Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.