In light of the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for prisoners, many media sources have been referring to the deal as a hostage exchange. Calling the agreement a hostage exchange seems like a subtle choice of words, but in actuality it’s not the correct term. In the current deal Israel has agreed to return 150 Palestinian prisoners once 50 Israeli women and children hostages are returned home.
The Israeli hostages are innocent civilians who were violently abducted from their homes, from their beds, from a music festival where they were celebrating life and peace. They are being held illegally by Hamas, with no information about their whereabouts or well-being. The Palestinian prisoners on the other hand were all arrested and tried for committing or attempting to commit crimes, such as murder, attempted murder, or assault. They are held in official jails, are able to communicate with the outside world, and their loved ones have information about their whereabouts and well-being. Calling the deal A Hostage Exchange assumes a moral equivalency between the return of innocent civilians who were kidnapped, and individuals who committed acts of terror.
The Palestinian prisoners who will be released are women and children, but that does not make them innocent. Taking a look at just some of the Palestinian prospects for release we have Shorouq Dwayyat, an 18 year old girl who posted on social media her desire to be a martyr before going into Jerusalem and stabbing an Israeli man in the head and shoulder. There is 14-year-old Nafoz Hamad who stabbed her neighbor with a foot-long knife while she was out walking her 5 children to daycare. Or 16-year-old Ibrahim Zmar who shot at two Israeli men at point-blank range on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Or 16-year-old Marah Bakir who stabbed a police officer while trying to take his weapon.
These are only a few of the women and children who are likely to be released, but the list is long, and each has their own story of violence and their own connection to a terrorist organization. In Gaza and the West Bank children are often indoctrinated at a young age to join terror groups and commit terror attacks against Israelis. Removing this indoctrination and de-radicalizing Gaza is one of the missions of the current war so that Palestinian children can also have a chance to be children. But for now, one thing is clear: there is no moral comparison between the release of elderly women, mothers, children and young girls who were violently abducted and women and children Prisoners who were arrested for violence and terrorism. They are being released because they don’t have “blood on their hands”, meaning that they didn’t actually kill anyone, but from the descriptions above it’s clear that the reason isn’t lack of will or intent, just good luck. Most likely they will try again. Let’s hope the same luck remains.
More reading: Who are the hostages released so far during Israel-Hamas deal?
Source: The “The Civilian Front 🛡 Israel Advocacy Abroad 🇮🇱” Whatsapp group.
On October 7th, Hamas-ISIS terrorists infiltrated Israel and murdered 1400 people. They raped women, burned babies alive, slaughtered entire families and kidnapped 240 Israelis.
This, and previous and next posts, aim is to shed light on the events of that horrible day, their implications, consequences, and repercussions.
