Bereaved families protest last terrorist release (Flash 90)

Bereaved families called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to refrain from attending the official Memorial Day ceremony for terror victims on Wednesday, in protest over the release of dozens of Palestinian Arab terrorists in the framework of peace talks.

Bereaved parents Ron Kerman and Yossi Zur drafted the letter.

“Please save us and other families of the victims of terror from your speech this year [on Memorial Day],” the letter reads. “Please do not come to the ceremony on Har Herzl and please do not speak.”

“Since last year’s ceremony you released murderers three times,” the letter continued. “Three times that you tore at our hearts and ripped at our flesh! If we were really that important and you really joined us in our grief, you would have had the ability to prevent us from suffering once again for nothing.”

“We’ve heard plenty of cliches, slogans and hollow promises in your speeches,” it fired. “You do not mean a word of it and we no longer believe in you and any word you say.”

“Your words will fall on deaf ears … let go of us and let us unite in peace and dignity with our loved ones,” it added.

Ministers Vow to Vote Against Future Releases—For Now

Meanwhile, Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and Interior Minister Gidon Sa’ar also met with bereaved families Wednesday over ongoing rumors of yet another terrorist release.

The families asked the two ministers not to release Israeli Arab terrorists in the event that peace talks return to the national agenda.

The two families asked that if political negotiations agenda and will return to the question of releasing terrorists holding Israeli identity cards they oppose such a proposal.

Sa’ar confirmed at the meeting that he would oppose the release of Israeli Arab terrorists.

“The ongoing negotiations have been called off for the moment and I do not see them returning on the horizon, but when the question of releasing terrorists holding Israeli identity cards will rise again, I will oppose and will vote against it, as I said before,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, Meir Indor, head of the Almagor terror victims organization, took issue with the State’s policies in light of Memorial Day.

“You cannot visit the graves of our loved ones on Memorial Day on the one hand, and on the other continue to release murderers,” he said. “83 murderers were released this year. You cannot do this and use all tools at our disposal to prevent further releases in the future.”

Naftali Bennett and Binyamin Netanyahu (Flash 90)

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett provoked mixed responses earlier this month, when he threatened to withdraw his Jewish Home party from the current coalition if Prime Minister Netanyahu gave in to international pressure to release Israeli–Arab terrorists from jail, to revive dying peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.

“If a proposal for release of Israeli murderers comes before the Cabinet, the Jewish Home will oppose it,” Bennett declared. “If the proposal will pass, the Jewish Home will resign from the government, which frees murderers with Israeli citizenship. Enough is enough.”

Bennett also urged Israeli Arabs to oppose the move, warning that by allowing the PA to speak for them they would be harming their own position in Israeli society.

Some Likud officials shrugged off the threats, as did the Jewish Home’s more left-wing coalition partners, saying Bennett was welcome to leave if he wanted to.

Others took it more seriously, warning that toppling the current government would backfire for the nationalist bloc and pave the way for a left-wing government willing to make sweeping concessions to the PA.

And that latter concern appears to be the official position of the Likud establishment. According to a government official, who spoke to Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity, a proposal has been tabled by the Likud party to reach a compromise which would see Israeli-Arab terrorists released in order to prop-up collapsing talks and stave-off international pressure – but on condition that they be stripped of their Israeli citizenship and summarily expelled.

It is a scenario which has been floated from time to time, although the PA has thus far rejected such an arrangement.

Hints that Deal Being Considered

Possible evidence that the deal was at least being considered were comments made by Jewish Home MK and Housing Minister Uri Ariel during yesterday’s Ramle Conference.

When asked if he thought the citizenship of Israeli Arab terrorists should be revoked in the eventuality that they were released, Ariel responded: “Even if their citizenship is revoked, they should also be expelled.”

That statement was far from a signal of support for releasing Arab Israel terrorists, and arguably was simply his response to a hypothetical scenario—but the fact that he did not reject the idea out of hand was taken as an unwelcome sign of flexibility on the issue by some, including Meir Indor, who heads the Almagor Terror Victims’ Association.

“So now they can fly abroad and have the time of their lives while their victims remain buried in the ground …?” he asked bitterly.

Politically Costly?

No one from the Jewish Home party was available to comment on the claims, and it should be stressed that it is not clear if they are being seriously considered by the party’s leadership.

The left-wing Labor party has in the past promised to replace the Jewish Home if it bolts the coalition, in order to keep peace talks going and to help promote concessions to the PA from within the government. It is not difficult then to understand why Bennett would seek to find a way to remain in the government and use his position to prevent such an eventuality.

But such a move would undeniably be a politically-risky one for the Jewish Home, which is currently riding high in opinion polls, due in part to its perceived no-nonsense approach to Israeli security issues, including staunch opposition to the release of convicted terrorists.

Bennett has emerged relatively well from previous spats with Netanyahu’s party. But following a pledge to leave the coalition as unequivocal as the one he made prior to the Pesach holidays, and after deriding PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas for making “empty threats” to dismantle the PA if Israel did not give in to his demands, it would be hard to spin such an agreement as anything other than a capitulation.

Pictures of the 183 victims killed in terrorist attacks by Palestinian prisoners recently paroled in the Israel-Palestinian negotiations (photo credit: Contact)

Bereaved families and victims of terrorist attacks staged a mock Passover Seder as part of a demonstration outside the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem on Thursday.

The families and members of the Almagor Terror Victims Association arranged the table with matzot, wine, food, and Seder plates, but instead of people sitting at the chairs there were pictures of the 183 victims of the terrorists freed in the last three stages of Palestinian prisoners’ release by Israel, as part of the ongoing U.S. brokered negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

At the center of the table was a picture of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whom the bereaved families hold responsible for releasing the terrorists.

“These are the people that will not be at their families’ Passover Seder because they were murdered by the released terrorists. We are here to remind John Kerry, who blamed Israel for the ‘poof’, of the price that was paid by Israeli society for its goodwill gestures to the Palestinians and the false hopes of politicians. Let us remind Kerry that the ‘poof moment’ is done by the murderers with their bullets and not by building a neighborhood in Gilo in Jerusalem,” Almagor Chairman Meir Indor said Thursday.

Almagor is preparing to launch a new campaign next week, calling for the reincarceration of the 80 prisoners paroled during the talks thus far.

Bereaved families and victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks staged a mock Passover seder as part of a demonstration outside the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israel Hayom reported.

The families and members of the Almagor Terror Victims Association arranged the table with matzot, wine, food, and seder plates, but instead of people sitting at the chairs there were pictures of the 183 victims of the terrorists freed in the last three stages of the Palestinian terrorist prisoner release by Israel, as part of the ongoing U.S.-brokered negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

At the center of the table was a picture of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whom the bereaved families hold responsible for releasing the terrorists.

“These are the people that will not be at their families’ Passover seder because they were murdered by the released terrorists,” said Almagor Chairman Meir Indor. “We are here to remind John Kerry, who blamed Israel for the ‘poof’ [of peace talks faltering], of the price that was paid by Israeli society for its goodwill gestures to the Palestinians and the false hopes of politicians. Let us remind Kerry that the ‘poof moment’ is done by the murderers with their bullets and not by building a neighborhood in Gilo in Jerusalem.”

Esmat Mansour, convicted as an accomplice to murder, was one of the first Palestinian prisoners released last year to keep peace talks with the Israelis going. Now he teaches Hebrew—a language he learned during more than two decades behind bars—to Palestinian children.

The U.S.-brokered talks that led to his release are now in danger of collapse, and at the center of the impasse is what to do about other prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at releasing a final batch of 26 Palestinian prisoners unless the Palestinians agreed to continue talks past the April 29 end date.

The issue is an emotional one here. Israelis see the prisoners as terrorists with blood on their hands and wonder why they must be freed to keep peace talks alive. For the Palestinians, the prisoners are freedom fighters and heroes of the resistance against Israeli occupation.

On a recent day, in the schoolyard of the Greek Orthodox high school in this Palestinian village near Ramallah, where he is now the Hebrew language instructor, Mansour was greeted like a celebrity. Teachers and students rushed to say hello. His teenage pupils said they love learning Hebrew with him, even though it’s the language of their perceived oppressors.

Mansour, 37, was one of the longest-serving Palestinian security prisoners, jailed by Israel for more than 20 years for his part in the murder of Haim Mizrachi, an Israeli from the Jewish settlement of Beit El.

Mansour was 16 when he helped three older teenagers ambush Mizrachi, whom they planned to kidnap. When Mizrachi resisted, the other conspirators, Mansour said, stabbed their victim to death. They later tried to burn his body to hide the evidence.

Mansour said that he does not regret his role in the violence of the past, but said he would never take another life now.

“I understand the pain and sadness of the [Israeli] victims because they have lost loved ones and nothing in the world can repair that. But I do not understand why their anger is directed at the prisoners,” said Mansour, who said he is well aware that Israelis see him as a terrorist.

“I think they need to look at the real reasons why their loved ones died and not take it personally,” he said. “It’s a result of the conflict.”

But that is not a common view in Israel, where key figures in the ruling coalition have threatened to quit the government if more prisoners are released.

“I will not sit in a government that releases terrorists in exchange for nothing,” said Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, who has threatened to resign if even one more Palestinian prisoner is set free. Danon is one of the leaders of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Many Palestinians and prisoners’ advocates argue that longtime former detainees typically focus on rebuilding their lives, marrying and settling down—not on fighting.

Israeli security agencies dispute that, saying that about 50 percent return to terrorist activity, while research by Almagor, an Israeli association for victims of terrorism, has found that about 80 percent of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel over the years did so.

In April 2012, for example, two Palestinian prisoners who were among 1,027 released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit were rearrested by Israel’s internal security agency—one for allegedly recruiting Palestinians in the West Bank to kidnap Israelis, the other for smuggling weapons.

“The problem is that they all become symbols of the resistance,” said Meir Indor of Almagor. “They become heroes in their society, their crimes are celebrated. The system does not let them get away from that.”

A senior Israeli military intelligence officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of security protocols, said that long-serving Palestinian prisoners who return to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, are more likely to support violence. The prisoners who come home to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian leaders have renounced violence as a tactic, usually do not.

As a condition of their release, former prisoners returning to the West Bank must remain within their municipality for a year, check in with the Israeli army every two months and stay inside the West Bank for ten years.

Mansour, like all the 78 prisoners released in this round of peace talks, was given $50,000 upon release and a monthly salary of $1,725 by the Palestinian Authority.

He said Israelis should stop seeing him as a threat but instead as someone who might be able to make a difference in his society. He learned to speak, read and write Hebrew fluently during his 20 years in prison.

“When we were in prison we became curious about Israeli life and society, we learned Hebrew and we watched Israeli TV,” said Mansour, adding that his years behind bars in Israel helped him better understand the people he once hated enough to kill.

“I don’t feel like my time was wasted. It’s true that it was hard, sometimes violent and that I lost a big part of my life, but I have those experiences now and maybe I can use them to do something that other people can’t do,” he said.

Since his release in August, Mansour said he has taught young Palestinians about their neighbors and helped them learn Hebrew so they can better communicate with the Israeli soldiers at checkpoints and other places across the West Bank.

Mansour said that he makes a great effort to play down his status as a hero to his students, who are now the same age he was when he was first jailed.

“I try to teach them never to use violence,” said Mansour, who wrote three novels while in prison, all featuring uneasy heroes who had to battle their personal demons and weaknesses to survive.

“I don’t feel like a hero because of what I did. Honestly, anyone can kill a person; that is easy. But I do see myself as a hero because I came out of this experience still strong,” he said. “I wrote, studied and managed to deal with the harsh conditions in prison, I left and I still have my sanity.”

Meir Indor, Chairman of the Almagor terror victims association, sent a letter of the members of the US Senate following the expressions made by Secretary of State John Kerry last night (Tuesday).

Indor wrote, “Releasing terrorists who have murdered Jews is only a ‘poof’ for those who feel the lives of Jews are not worth more than a ‘poof’—not to the families who lost loved ones by those terrorists’ hands, and not to the Jewish nation …”

Bereaved family members of victims killed by Palestinian terrorists released in connection with the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations called on US President Barack Obama to free Jonathan Pollard.

“Mr. President, with a broken heart, we are turning to you and asking you—please release Pollard, in the name of justice, compassion and humanity,” read a letter signed by 22 members of the Almagor Terror Victims Organization.

The organization presented the letter to US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who was requested to pass it along to Obama.

“If all the requests and considerations weren’t enough, please do this as a gesture to us, families who lost those most dear to them, and who were forced to see the murderers of their precious ones freed—so that the end of the Pollard tragedy will offer them at least a tiny sliver of consolation,” read the letter.

JTA contributed to this report.

Bereaved families who suffered a second time when the terrorists who killed their loved ones were released in connection with the Israel-Palestinian Authority diplomatic process wrote a letter to President Barack Obama of the United States, Sunday, demanding that he release Jonathan Pollard as a gesture to their sacrifice. Pollard has been behind bars for more than 28 years on a life sentence for passing classified information from the U.S. to Israel.

The Almagor umbrella group of terror-victim organizations initiated the letter, which Almagor delivered to the U.S. ambassador in Israel, Dan Shapiro.

Family members of terror victims killed by Palestinian prisoners released in connection with the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations called on President Obama to free Jonathan Pollard.

The letter, signed by 22 terror victim relatives, was delivered Sunday to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro to be passed on to the U.S. president, according to the Times of Israel. The letter was circulated by the Almagor Terror Victims Association.

“Mr. President, with a broken heart we are turning to you and asking you—please release Pollard, in the name of justice, compassion and humanity,” read the letter, which detailed their pain and suffering, and their failed attempt to prevent the release of the prisoners over the last eight months.

“Sadly, we did not succeed in our struggle. Close to 80 cold-blooded murderers were freed in the last three releases, and were received with massive celebrations by Abu Mazen while being portrayed as heroes,” read the letter.

Israel released the 80 Palestinian prisoners over the last eight months as part of an agreement made last August to jump-start the peace process. Some 28 other prisoners were set to go free at the end of last month, but Israel postponed their release pending progress in the peace process, or an agreement by the Palestinians to extend the time of the negotiations, which currently are scheduled to end on April 29.

In an effort to convince Israel to release the latest batch of prisoners, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered to release Pollard, the convicted American spy for Israel, currently in his 29th year of a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Many U.S. intelligence officials object to freeing Pollard.

“If all the requests and considerations weren’t enough, please do this as a gesture to the families who lost those most dear to them, who were forced to see the murderers of their precious ones freed, so that the end of the Pollard tragedy will offer them at least a tiny sliver of consolation,” said the letter.

Israelis demonstrate at the Western Wall for the release of Jonathan Pollard in 2005. (photo credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Families of victims of terrorists released by Israel in the context of peace talks with the Palestinians called on US President Barack Obama Sunday to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard from his imprisonment in the United States.

“Mr. President, with a broken heart we are turning to you and asking you—please release Pollard, in the name of justice, compassion and humanity,” read the emotional letter, signed by 22 relatives of victims of Palestinian prisoners already released over the past nine months. The letter was publicized by Almagor, a terror victims’ advocacy organization.

Calling the release of terrorists “an absurd nightmare” for the families, the letter emphasizes the pain the relatives feel every day as a result of the loss of their loved ones and the failure of their campaign to prevent the release of the terrorists.

“Sadly, we did not succeed in our struggle. Close to 80 cold-blooded murderers were freed in the last three releases, and were received with massive celebrations by Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] while being portrayed as heroes. We felt our hearts explode at the sight of killers of children being carried on peoples’ shoulders, we trembled seeing them sitting in television studios, dressed for a celebration and explaining with pride how they slaughtered our relatives, inciting the young generation to follow in their footsteps…”

“Mr. President,” the letter continued, “the entire Jewish nation, and we perhaps more than anyone else, felt in the past week that one good thing was about to happen here. After close to 30 years, the open wound of the Pollard episode stood ready to conclude.”

The letter concluded with a very personal plea from the victims’ families. “If all the requests and considerations weren’t enough, please do this as a gesture to the families who lost those most dear to them, who were forced to see the murderers of their precious ones freed, so that the end of the Pollard tragedy will offer them at least a tiny sliver of consolation.”

Palestinians celebrate the third installment of the prisoner release by Israel at the presidential compound in Ramallah, December 31, 2013. (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

Last week, Israeli officials asserted that Jerusalem had been ready to approve a complex, three-way deal under which Israel would have freed a fourth and final batch of 26-30 long-term Palestinian terror convicts and also released 400 more Palestinian security prisoners not guilty of violent crimes. Peace talks would have extended beyond the current April 29 deadline, and the US would have released Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard.

Israeli officials accused Abbas of torpedoing the deal.

While the PA says Israel breached its commitments by failing to free the fourth and final group of 26 long-term terrorist convicts last week, Israeli officials say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was on the verge of approving a more far-reaching prisoner deal—which would also have provided for Pollard’s release—when Abbas shocked Netanyahu by signing on live TV applications for the PA to join 15 UN and other international treaties.

The US-born Pollard, 59, has spent 28 years behind bars, and is up for parole next year.

The former naval intelligence analyst who turned over suitcases stuffed with US Cold War-era secrets to the Israelis in the mid-1980s is a cause celebre among some segments of the Jewish community worldwide.

The American intelligence and defense community for years dug in its heels over keeping Pollard imprisoned, on the grounds that he was a US native son who took foreign cash to betray his country.
The letter from the victims’ families will be passed to the White House through US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

Family members of terror victims killed by Palestinian prisoners released in connection with the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations called on President Obama to free Jonathan Pollard.

The letter, signed by 22 terror victim relatives, was delivered Sunday to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro to be passed on to the U.S. president, according to the Times of Israel. The letter was circulated by the Almagor Terror Victims Association.

“Mr. President, with a broken heart we are turning to you and asking you—please release Pollard, in the name of justice, compassion and humanity,” read the letter, which detailed their pain and suffering, and their failed attempt to prevent the release of the prisoners over the last eight months.

“Sadly, we did not succeed in our struggle. Close to 80 cold-blooded murderers were freed in the last three releases, and were received with massive celebrations by Abu Mazen while being portrayed as heroes,” read the letter.

Israel released the 80 Palestinian prisoners over the last eight months as part of an agreement made last August to jump-start the peace process. Some 28 other prisoners were set to go free at the end of last month, but Israel postponed their release pending progress in the peace process, or an agreement by the Palestinians to extend the time of the negotiations, which currently are scheduled to end on April 29.

In an effort to convince Israel to release the latest batch of prisoners, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered to release Pollard, the convicted American spy for Israel, currently in his 29th year of a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Many U.S. intelligence officials object to freeing Pollard.

“If all the requests and considerations weren’t enough, please do this as a gesture to the families who lost those most dear to them, who were forced to see the murderers of their precious ones freed, so that the end of the Pollard tragedy will offer them at least a tiny sliver of consolation,” said the letter.

The bereaved families of terror victims packed away the protest tent from in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem on Thursday night, after the announcement that the fourth and final batch of 26 terrorist prisoners promised as a “gesture” was cancelled.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni made the announcement earlier in the night, given that the Palestinian Authority (PA) breached the terms of the peace talks by making a unilateral request to join 15 United Nations agencies on Tuesday.

Ya’akov Tovol, the father of Lior HYD, who was murdered in the 1990s by an Arab terrorist that was supposed to be part of the final batch of terrorist releases, noted that the announcement was a very welcome development.

“A weight has been lifted from my heart, I hope that (Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu) will hold on and not give in again to some kind of trick by (PA Chairman) Mahmoud Abbas,” remarked Tovol.

Lt. Col. (res.) Meir Indor, chairman of the Almagor organization that aids families of terror victims, and a leader of the protest movement, praised the success of the struggle. He further called for the 78 terrorists who had already been released to be returned to jail.

“We receive the government’s announcement with satisfaction but also concern,” Indor told Arutz Sheva. “Together with the joy on the success of the struggle, I call on the government to do what is demanded and gather all 78 Palestinians that were released, and return them to jail.”

Indor added that “the Palestinians didn’t stand by their conditions, and there is no reason to pay them with murderers with blood on their hands.”

Chairperson of the grassroots My Israel movement, Sarah Haetzni–Cohen, remarked “we are happy that the struggle succeeded, we are happy that the public spoke up. We’ll continue to follow developments and update regarding the coming activities.”

Bereaved family members of terror attack victims welcomed on Thursday night Israel’s announcement that it would not release a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners as was planned to advance peace talks.

Activists from the Almagor Terror Victims Association dismantled a tent protest against the release, staged outside the residency of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

“This is not a celebration as we see it because Israel has already unnecessarily paid back [to the Palestinians] 85 murderous terrorist who were released and roam freely,” said Almagor director Lt.-Col. (res.) Meir Indor.

Jonathan Pollard (Yehuda Glick)

In a worst-case scenario, Israel is likely to end up releasing Palestinian terrorists—and Jonathan Pollard will remain in prison in the U.S. That is the scenario Dr. Aryeh Bachrach, whose son was killed in a terror attack in 1995, sees taking place in the coming days. While Israel has so far held out and refused to release a fourth batch of terrorists promised last year, but given the history of these releases—including Israel’s willingness to comply and the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to back down—Bachrach sees the mass release of terrorists in the coming days as almost inevitable.

This would be the fourth time Israel is set to release terrorists in the latest “round” of releases, which began last year. Israel committed to releasing over 100 terrorists, many responsible for the deaths of multiple Israelis, as a “gesture” to tempt PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to restart talks with Israel after a three year hiatus. So far, Israel has released more than 75 terrorists.

Another 26 were set to be released last weekend, but the government held up the release at the last moment. In response, PA threatened to cut off talks with Israel altogether, and sent documents to 15 UN committees and commissions demanding recognition as a full member state, in violation of a commitment they gave not to do so to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

In an attempt to keep the talks going, a deal was proposed whereby Israel would release even more terrorists—as many as 400—in exchange for Pollard and a PA commitment to keep talking.

While that deal is apparently off the table after the PA demanded no fewer than 1,000 terrorists be released, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is still trying to convince ministers to agree to a mass release, and is dangling the prospect of Pollard’s release before them—even though the U.S. has said that they are not promising anything.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Bachrach, head of the Almagor Bereaved Parents’ Forum, said that the Americans know who they are dealing with, and probably figure they can “save” Pollard for yet more Israeli concessions. This is not, after all, the Americans promised to release Pollard, and in fact not the first time they promised Netanyahu himself they would do so.

“In the Wye River agreements in 1998, in which Netanyahu was a partner, then President Bill Clinton promised Pollard’s release if Netanyahu would agree to surrender part of Hevron,” said Bachrach. “Netanyahu agreed, but Clinton did not pardon Pollard. We gained nothing, while the Palestinians ‘conceded’ that they no longer had to turn terrorist murders over to Israel, as the Oslo Accords required.

“Abbas has been threatening for a long time to seek recognition at the UN, regardless of our release of terrorists. And he will continue to do so, regardless of the release. We should tell him to do so and deal with the consequences himself,” Bachrach added.

Secretary of State John Kerry pictured with Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (credit: State Department)

Some 200 Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest the possible U.S.-brokered release of Arab prisoners, Israel Hayom reported. The demonstrators held pictures of some 300 Israelis killed by prisoners who were released or were about to be released as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Meir Indor, director of the Almagor Terror Victims Association, called on the Israeli government to stand firm and not give in to “U.S. extortion” in the negotiations.

The march originated from the intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road, the site of a major 2001 suicide bombing. Some of the perpetrators of that attack, which took place at a now-defunct Sbarro pizza parlor, were released by Israel.

Protesters started the demonstration by reciting Psalms. Then, Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, whose daughter Ruth Fogel was killed in Itamar three years ago along with her husband and three of her children, recited the Mourner’s Kaddish. Demonstrators then marched to the U.S. Consulate on Agron Street to protest the reported American offer to release imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard alongside the Palestinian prisoners. They chanted, “Do not release terrorists,” “Don’t let Jewish blood be spilled,” and “Don’t release murderers.”

Protesters rally in front of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, Wednesday (photo credit: Yonatan Zindel)

Some 200 Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest the possible release of Arab prisoners. The demonstrators held pictures of some 300 Israelis who had been killed by prisoners who were released or were about to be released as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The march originated from the intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road, the site of a major 2001 suicide bombing. Some of the perpetrators of that attack, which took place at a now-defunct Sbarro pizza parlor, were released by Israel.

Protesters started the demonstration by reciting psalms. Then, Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, whose daughter Ruth Fogel was killed in Itamar three years ago together with her husband and three of her children, recited the Mourner’s Kaddish. Demonstrators then marched to the U.S. Consulate on Agron Street to protest the reported American offer to release imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard alongside the Palestinian prisoners. “Bibi, wake-up,” they chanted, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They also chanted, “Do not release terrorists,” “Don’t let Jewish blood be spilled,” and “Don’t release murders.”

“They are going to walk out of prison and get another opportunity to kill more Jews,” lamented one demonstrator. “Why are they going to release them?” she asked. “For more blood?”

The son of Haim Smadar, who was killed when a terrorist blew herself up in a Jerusalem supermarket, said, “Three weeks ago the government gave the Palestinians the remains of the bomber who killed my father; the government of Israel did not notify me, and did not ask for my opinion on this matter.”

Meir Indor, the director of the Almagor Terror Victims Association, spoke before the demonstrators, saying, “The U.S. is essentially blackmailing us like Hamas; Hamas kidnapped Gilad Schalit to have murderers released; the U.S. is holding Pollard to get Israel to release murderers, too. It is very sad to see the U.S. employing Hamas-style tactics.” Indor called on the Israeli government to stand firm and not give up to the “U.S. extortion,” stressing that “[the predominantly national religious party] Habayit Hayehudi must leave the government over this deal.”

Protesters ended their protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence, where they assembled a makeshift collage using the pictures they were carrying.

Video by Eli Mandelbaum

Bereaved families of terror attack victims protested Wednesday night in Jerusalem against Israeli-American spy Jonathan Pollard’s release as part of a deal to encourage Israel to release Palestinian prisoners and extend peace talk.

Members of the Almagor Terror Victims Organization, around 150 people, marched outside the US Consulate in Jerusalem in opposition of America’s possible release of Pollard, who has served nearly 30 years in a US prison for spying for Israel.

Bereaved families protest last terrorist release (Flash 90)

Bereaved families, along with the Almagor Terror Victims’ Association and the ‘My Israel’ grassroots organization, are staging a march against the fourth batch of terrorist releases in Jerusalem Wednesday evening.

The families say that the concept of releasing Palestinian Arab terrorists is “intolerable” and unworthy of “being exchanged” even with “compensation” from the US or Palestinian Authority – e.g. the release of longtime captive Jonathan Pollard.

The march will commence at 6:00 pm from the corner of King George and Yafo streets in Jerusalem – the site of the deadly Sbarro suicide bombing thirteen years ago, which killed 15 people including seven children and a pregnant woman. Marchers will pass the site of the “Cafe Moment” bombing in 2002, in which 11 civilians were murdered, and will end at the Prime Minister’s Residence.

Elihai Ben Yishai, the brother of Ruth Fogel, who was murdered in cold blood along with her husband and three of their infant children by Arab terrorists in 2011, stated to Arutz Sheva that the demonstration is not just politics; it’s principles.

“We are crying out forcefully against the release of murderers,” Yishai stated. “Releasing these terrorists is a step toward proclaiming the end of our sovereignty in this country, as well as our moral values and basic sense of justice.”

“Enough with this madness,” he continued. “Releasing these terrorists constitutes an unjust an un-Jewish act, and we have to return to who we are. This evening, we march to regain our resilience.”

The fourth batch of terrorist releases has sparked considerable controversy, as MKs point out that the previous releases have done nothing to further talks, and that several of the released terrorists have contributed to the increase in terror attacks over the past year.

Bereaved families have continued to protest over the releases, which are now on the table in exchange for the release of Jonathan Pollard and the continuance of peace talks. More than just releasing hundreds of Palestinian Arab terrorists and criminals, Israel would also be forced to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria, according to the terms of the proposal.

Families: “Do Not Use Pollard as a Bargaining Chip”

At a press conference held at the protest tent outside Netanyahu’s house on Tuesday, bereaved families and the Algamor Terror Victims Association called upon the Prime Minister and the Israeli Cabinet to reject the brewing deal which is intended to save the peace talks.

Meir Indor, head of the Almagor organization, insisted that while Jonathan Pollard must be freed, he must not be used as “a poker chip in a flagrantly immoral scheme to win concessions out of Israel.”/p>

“Instead of fighting terror, this latest round of immoral and dangerous American pressure would be a clear victory for terror, freeing murderers who are likely to return to killing Jews,” Indor stated. Citing a statistic that 180 Israelis have been killed by terrorists freed from prison in previous mass releases, Indor emphasized that “opening our prison gates also makes heroes out of criminals, and encourages other Arabs to follow in their murderous ways, knowing that if they are caught and imprisoned, they will be set free in the next prisoner exchange.”

Yaakov Tubul, father of 17 year-old, Lior Tubul, who was stabbed 24 times and murdered by a terrorist in Ramot, told the large gathering of TV crews and reporters, “This despicable use of Pollard shows that America is clearly on the side of the Palestinians and can longer serve as a fair go-between in the peace talks. Pollard has nothing to do with the peace talks. America just wants more concessions from Israel, that’s all.”

Rabbi Yehuda Ben Yishai, Ruth Fogel’s father, said that until now the State of Israel had been a great moral voice in the war against terror – but that if it gave in to the Palestinian demand to release more terrorists, it would lose all of its moral stature in the eyes of the world, and pave the way for more and more concessions.

“When you abandon your highest morals and values,” he said, “then nothing has absolute importance, and you can end up giving away everything which is dear to you, including our mission as a light to the world, and our rightful claim to our homeland. If we abandon the most basic things we believe in, we make a mockery of our independence, and our celebrations of Pesach, Israel Memorial Day, and Israel Independence Day, no longer have any true meaning.”

Elihai, a former soldier, added that in addition to the personal pain his family suffered, and still feels every day, he and his army unit risked their lives in dangerous missions to capture terrorists. When they are set free, he said, it shatters the moral of the army, while strengthening the resolve of the enemy to continue their attempts to kill Jews.

Tzvi Fishman, a spokesman for Almagor, called on more victimized families, and the Israeli public, to join the round-the-clock vigil outside the home of the Prime Minister – saying it was the voice of the families, and their untiring appeals, which had awakened a majority of Israelis to oppose the release of Arab terrorists from prison. He also urged members of the government to speak out strongly against the current scheme, intended to extend the dying peace negotiations and strengthen the Arab position.

“While no one likes America’s cynical use of Pollard as a pressure tactic on Israel,” he said, “If he is freed, in a very real way it’s because of the battle these victimized families have been waging to prevent the immoral freeing of murderers. It’s their moral stand that has given the Israeli government the backbone to finally say no to setting killers free, which in turn has forced America to make this long, overdue offer to release Jonathan Pollard.”

Rabbi Fogel called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to “raise the banner of morality and justice, by not caving in to the political terror which America is waging against you, your government, and the people of Israel, by forcing Israel to surrender to Arab demands. By saying no, Israel will be much stronger, and the world will be better for it.”

Bereaved families of terror attack victims were due to protest Wednesday night in Jerusalem against Israeli-American spy Jonathan Pollard’s release as part of a deal to encourage Israel to release Palestinian prisoners and extend peace talks.

Members of the Almagor Terror Victims Organization were set to march outside the US Consulate in Jerusalem in opposition of America’s possible release of Pollard, who has served nearly 30 years in a US prison.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday (Photo credit: AFP)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday night threw a last-minute hitch into a potential U.S.-brokered deal that would extend the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations to early 2015.

At the end of a Palestinian Authority leadership meeting in Ramallah on Tuesday, Abbas took the unilateral step of signing 15 international treaties and conventions, resuming a campaign for further international recognition of a Palestinian state, despite a previous promise to suspend such efforts during the nine-month window of negotiations with Israel. The documents will apparently be submitted on April 29, when that window closes.

“This is our fundamental right and we will not give it up,” Abbas said. “The Israeli government was supposed to meet tonight to discuss the fourth stage [of the prisoner release] and we were informed that the meeting had been canceled and no discussion will be held.

“We are interested in peace and in an independent Palestinian state that will be established in peace beside Israel, but we keep facing delays—more and more delays. So the Palestinian leadership unanimously decided to join international organizations and institutions. We are not closing the door and we have hope for the peace process. This is not a move against the United States. We will stick to our commitments and we will take advantage of every moment until April 29 to try to save the negotiations.”

A senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom on Tuesday that this was not the end of the negotiations, but he pointed an accusatory finger at Israel, saying that the new conditions Israel set had shuffled the deck.

“In the early hours of the morning, it seemed we would have a deal, [but] the terms have changed,” the official said.

“Israel refused to include Israeli Arabs in the fourth stage, aggressively demanded to be the ones to put together the next list of those to be released, cut the list of prisoners almost in half, and insisted that the settlement freeze will not include sites that have already been publicly announced or construction in east Jerusalem. We did not agree to that because it is extortion.”

Imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard (Photo credit: AP)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry canceled plans to travel to the region again on Wednesday. He had been supposed to meet with Abbas in Ramallah. Despite the Palestinian move, Kerry said it was “completely premature” to write off the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

“We are continuing, even now … to be engaged with both parties,” Kerry said in Brussels, where he was attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “We urge both sides to show restraint while we work with them. President Abbas has given me his word that he will continue to negotiate until the end of April.”

Kerry said he was unsure he would travel to the region.

Given the Palestinian move, the fate of the potential deal to extend the peace talks is unclear. The deal would include the U.S. freeing imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. If the deal goes ahead, Pollard could celebrate Passover as a free man after languishing for more than 28 years in an American prison.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could present the deal to his government for approval as soon as Wednesday. Yet, the deal faces opposition on four different fronts—within Likud, from other coalition members, from the Palestinians, and from the U.S.

Members of the coalition held discussions on Tuesday on preventing a government collapse if the deal is approved.

The diplomatic fluster began late Monday night, when Kerry and Netanyahu agreed that the U.S. would release Pollard before the first night of Passover, and deport him to Israel. In return, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations would be extended until January 2015; the Palestinians would agree not to apply to U.N. institutions for statehood recognition until the peace talks end; Israel would limit construction in Judea and Samaria to development projects already underway, with construction continuing in private housing, public institutions and in Jerusalem; and Israel would release 26 terrorists with blood on their hands, including 12 Israeli Arab terrorists, as well as 400 Palestinian security prisoners who were convicted for terrorist activities but are not considered to have blood on their hands.

Netanyahu briefed his ministers on the matter, and as of Wednesday, analysts believed he would secure a majority to approve the deal, although it remains to be seen at what cost.

Deputy ministers in Likud have threatened to resign if the deal goes through, and Habayit Hayehudi is said to be considering a similar move. Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin tried to facilitate an agreement between settlement heads and Habayit Hayehudi to stave off a last-minute political crisis, while warning Netanyahu that the deal could spell the coalition’s end. Elkin told Netanyahu he would probably resign if the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria proved too extensive for settlement leaders, while Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) called on Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett to join him in quitting the government if the prisoner release is approved.

If the coalition survives, the deal with the Palestinians is expected to win the support of Yesh Atid and Hatnuah, as well as several Likud ministers.

Bennett held a session with party leaders to determine how Habayit Hayehudi ministers should react to the deal. While agreeing that all Habayit Hayehudi’s ministers would vote against the deal, the party went just short of saying it would quite the coalition in the event that the deal is approved.

The general perspective in Jerusalem is that Netanyahu is standing at a point of no return in his commitment to the U.S. over the deal, and threats by Habayit Hayehudi are unlikely to persuade him otherwise. On the other hand, calling off further negotiations with the Palestinians could trigger Hatnuah’s departure from the coalition, which could end up precipitating Yesh Atid’s resignation as well.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were also playing down the deal for Pollard’s release. White House press secretary Jay Carney said: “Obviously a lot of things [are] happening in that arena … the president has not made a decision to release Jonathan Pollard.”

Mounting reports of Pollard’s imminent release raised eyebrows in Washington as well. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) told MSNBC that releasing Pollard would be a “serious mistake.”

“It tells me that the administration is at its wits’ end here and believes that Netanyahu is the sole person in this equation. I think this is a horrible idea. I think it sends a horrible message,” Rogers said.

Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. peace negotiator, said even considering such a move smacked of desperation over the crumbling peace process. Miller said an early release for Pollard in the “age of [whistle-blower Edward] Snowden” would send the wrong signal about the consequences of spying on American soil.

Meanwhile, a member of the U.S. Parole Commission said that Pollard had waived a planned parole hearing. Commissioner Patricia Smoot said the hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, bereaved relatives of terror victims lashed out at the Israeli government over its talks with the U.S., fearing that the terrorists who murdered their loved ones could be released. Meir Indor, the director of the Almagor Terror Victims Association, said, “This proposal, to release Pollard for murderers, is morally bankrupt.”

Jonathan Pollard (Photo: Courtesy of Justice for Jonathan Pollard)

Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard would not turn down an opportunity to receive US presidential commutation of his life sentence as part of an agreement in which Palestinian and Israeli prisoners are released, well-placed sources told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

Pollard’s release would be presented as a gesture to Israel by US President Barack Obama, who has made similar gestures to Russia. Commuting Pollard’s life sentence to the 28-and-a-half years he has served may not be considered an official part of the agreement.

The sources said that Pollard, whose health continues to deteriorate, understood that the only way for him to be released from prison alive was via such an agreement. They vigorously denied reports that he had rejected a parole hearing due to opposition to being included in a swap that freed Palestinian terrorists.

Sources knowledgeable about the legal initiatives to secure Pollard’s release said his lawyers had merely asked to postpone the hearing due to pending litigation. Pollard’s attorneys have been fighting for access to classified information in his sentencing file that the US government intends to use against him in the hearing.

The file includes classified portions of a memorandum written by the late American defense secretary Caspar Weinberger that was used to incriminate Pollard but has since been discredited by top American security officials who worked closely with Weinberger at the time. The officials, who have read the classified documents, said they contained grave factual errors.

The second reason Pollard asked to delay the hearing was due to his failing health. While the ongoing political efforts to bring about his release were not connected to the request to delay the hearing, presidential clemency would be much more beneficial to Pollard than parole.

Rather than set Pollard completely free, parole would merely “release him to community supervision.” His sentence would continue for another 15 years, during which he could be rearrested or at least prevented from leaving the US.

Pollard’s release is not expected to be blocked by either Israeli or Palestinian politicians. Statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against a swap were dismissed as posturing in an effort to sweeten the payoff.

The only cabinet ministers who have openly said they would oppose a prisoner exchange that includes Pollard are Uzi Landau and Yair Shamir of Yisrael Beytenu and Israel Katz of the Likud. Katz said such a deal would be unethical as well as unfair to Pollard.

Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel of Bayit Yehudi condemned the United States for not releasing Pollard due to the merits of his case. But officials in his party were careful on Tuesday not to say that they would leave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition over such an agreement.

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon of the Likud said he would quit his post over the release of terrorists even if Pollard was included.

He called upon Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett to follow suit.

“This is a cynical attempt by [US Secretary of State John] Kerry and Netanyahu to add Pollard in order to justify releasing murderers who will return to terror,” Danon said.

Similar statements were made at a rally of the Almagor organization of terror victims outside Netanyahu’s residence in the capital. At the rally, Yaakov Tubul, whose son Lior’s murderer would be released in the swap, read a letter from Pollard from several years ago opposing a trade for Fatah leader and convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti. The rally was also attended by relatives of the Fogel and Applebaum families, whose members were killed in high-profile terrorist attacks.

“America is holding Pollard hostage to be used as a bargaining chip to bring about the release of murderers,” Almagor head Meir Indor said. “It harms Pollard to be equated with murderers by making such a deal.”

“Stop the release of terrorists,” activists’ signs say at vigil outside PM’s residence in Jerusalem, March 23 (Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)

A possible coalition crisis was brewing on Tuesday over the emerging deal to save peace talks, which includes an Israeli obligation to release 400 more Palestinian prisoners.

Officials involved in the talks between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry to ensure negotiations continue said that the additional prisoner release was part of the deal, as well as a partial settlement freeze and the release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard from a US prison prior to the start of Passover on April 14.

A Bayit Yehudi party source said Tuesday that seven of the party’s 12 MKs think the faction should leave the coalition if the government agrees to free 400 prisoners, even if Pollard is also freed as party of the deal.

A right-wing senior minister who was supposed to meet with Almagor Terror Victims Organization chief Meir Indor on Tuesday canceled the meeting citing a coalition crisis over the deal as the reason.

Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel of Bayit Yehudi said on Tuesday he would oppose any such accord that would see Pollard go free in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, telling Army Radio that Pollard himself was against being part of a prisoner exchange.

“I was personally told he is against being released in such a disgraceful deal,” said Ariel, arguing that Pollard deserved unconditional freedom and not to be swapped for Palestinian “murderers.”

US officials have said that a deal allowing negotiations to continue could include the release of Jonathan Pollard, who has spent more than 25 years in an American jail after being convicted of spying for Israel.

US intelligence agencies have long opposed any early release of Pollard, who pleaded guilty in 1987 to charges of spying for Israel and US officials said no decision on his release has yet been made.

Including Pollard in the deal is apparently part of a US effort to give Netanyahu the leeway he may need to convince coalition hardliners who object to the release of more Palestinian prisoners.