Friday, November 04, 2011

4-Nov-11: Quote of the day: Legendary former head of Israel's secret service on the Murderers-for-Gilad exchange

To us and some civilized societies, the released
murderers are thugs and barbarians. But to societies of
a different kind, most of them unfortunately located
adjacent to Israel's borders, they're celebrities, heroes,
figures worthy of emulation. 
The long-serving former head (2002-2011) of the Mossad (Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations), Meir Dagan, addressed the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal two days ago (Wednesday) at a media conference in Tel Aviv. Ynet has this excerpt:
"I'm not sure I was thrilled with the fact that Netanyahu greeted him back. It seemed problematic to me [that] he's being portrayed as a hero. I would beware of such definitions... Gilad went through terrible suffering and should have been brought back home, but a hero? This event does not strike me as quintessential heroism... I'm glad Shalit is back. We had no choice but to strike a deal, but not this one... I oppose the deal which was implemented. I thought it wrong to release 140 terrorists to the territories. Many of them will resume their terrorist activity. We bolstered Hamas and weakened the PA."

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