|
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
ZOA is thrilled and grateful for the hostages and their families that all the hostages will be coming home on Monday/Tuesday. Hamas’ unspeakable torture and abuse of our innocent brothers and sisters, and their families’ painful waiting and uncertainty about their loved ones’ fates, will finally come to an end. We wish all of the starved, abused, suffering hostages and their families a refuah shelaima – a full and speedy healing of body and soul. This has been a horrific ordeal for them and for the entire Jewish nation.
ZOA again thanks President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu for their unceasing efforts to help release our brothers and sisters from captivity. And we again profoundly thank President Trump for supporting any and all of Israel’s actions if Hamas and the Palestinian Arabs do not fulfill their obligations required under Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.
The ZOA recognizes that the deal seems to mollify some of the world’s leaders and their citizens’ huge surge of hatred toward Israel and Jews. There is also now a possibility of more peace deals with other Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. This is another potentially positive consequence of this agreement.
We must, however, reiterate our concerns about the Gaza deal, commencing with the first stage: the release of over 1,950 evil Palestinian Arab/Islamist terrorists. That’s 100 Arab/Islamist terrorists released for each hostage. Our holy Torah warns that we dare not overpay for hostages. Yet we are doing exactly that. And at least 250 of these Arab/Islamist terrorists were convicted of heinous murders and terrorist attacks against innocent Jewish Israelis.
We are deeply worried that the “Yahya Sinwars” among these released terrorists will again plot and carry out terror attacks that murder far more Jews than the 20 we just saved. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes. We cannot forget that Sinwar was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal, in which 1,027 terrorists, including 280 serving life sentences for murder and other terror activities, were exchanged for one Israeli. Forty of those released became Hamas leaders. Following his release, Sinwar orchestrated the October 7th mass atrocities, torture, rape and murder of 1,200 innocent Jews and others; the wounding of 5,000 innocent Jews and others; and kidnapping of 252 Jews and others. Other terrorists released in the Shalit deal murdered innocent Israelis following their release.
The data presented to Israel’s cabinet by former head of Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) Ronen Bar showed that 82% of the Palestinian Arabs released in the Gilad Shalit deal returned to terror activity following their release.
The 1985 Jibril deal was another lopsided deal in which released Arab terrorists went on to lead more terror attacks. Three Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) terror organization were exchanged for 1,150 Palestinian Arab. One of those released terrorists was Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who founded Hamas two years after his release. Other terrorists released in the Jibril deal led the First Intifada (1987-1993), in which the Palestinian Arab terrorists murdered or maimed thousands of innocent Jews.
| 
