Israeli Citizens Protest the Release of Terrorists

Israeli citizens are protesting the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners many of whom are convicted terrorists. 

United States Secretary of State John Kerry has brought Israeli and Palestinian officials back to the negotiating table in Washington but not without a price.  As a pre-requisite to peace talks, the Palestinian Authority has demanded the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners many of them convicted terrorists guilty of murder. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has complied in order to jump start the peace process but not without resistance. Recent protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, attended by hundreds of Israelis, reflect the outrage of Israel’s citizens over Netanyahu’s decision.

Polls have shown that 85% of the Israeli public is opposed to the release of Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands. Terror victims’ organizations have been very vocal in opposition to the government’s decision and receive support from Israelis across the political spectrum.

Among the prisoners is terrorist  Issa Abed Rabbo, who as United With Israel previously reported brutally murdered Israeli university students Roni Levi and Revital Seri in 1984 while they were hiking south of Jerusalem. He had tied the two up at gunpoint, placed bags over their heads, and then proceeded to murder them in cold blood. Abed Rabbo is presently serving two life sentences.

Mohammed Daoud is another terrorist on the list.  In 1987, Daoud hurled a Molotov cocktail at a car, slaughtering a pregnant woman and her 5-year-old son. Others to be released include Kareem and Maher Younis, who murdered Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1981.  Bromberg was hitchhiking home when Kareem and Maher kidnapped him and shot him in the head, leaving him on the side of the road to die near Pardes Hanna, a town south of Haifa.

Jomaa Adam and Mahmoud Harbish, also set to be released, hurled three Molotov cocktails at a bus, murdering Rachel Weiss and her three children, alongside soldier David Deloressa, who attempted to rescue Rachel Weiss and her children in 1988.

Palestinian Authority newspapers and digital media  routinely glorify convicted terrorists and Palestinian Media Watch cited the Palestinian newspaper Al Hayat Al Jadida as reporting terrorists imprisoned by Israel for a security-related crime for 30 years or more, receive payments from the Palestinian government in amounts over $3,000 per month.

Protests are also occurring on social media. An info-graphic recently circulated on Facebook compared Israel’s releasing terrorists for the sake of peace, to the United States releasing all the terrorists of Guantanamo Bay in exchange for peace talks with Al Queda and the Taliban.

Gila Molcho, a protestor whose brother was murdered by one of the terrorists set to be freed told Jewish One News, “I want the government to understand that they are giving the wrong message to our youth, because our youth are understanding now that their blood has no worth, and they are giving the wrong message to the other side, that they should go ahead and kill because it gives them power.”

By Rachel Avraham & Eitan Press, staff writers for United With Israel