Mere Rhetoric: Details Of Shalit Deal Emerging. You're Not Going To Like It.

Happy Tuesday:

Initifada leader Marwan Barghouti is among the hundreds of prisoners the captors of IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit want freed in a swap, the Palestinian Authority information minister said Monday. Schalit's captors handed the names of Palestinian prisoners they want freed to Israel several days ago, through Egyptian mediators. Little is known about the list, including the number of names on it. However, PA Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti confirmed Monday that two of the most senior Palestinian prisoners, Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat, are on the list. The information minister and the prisoner are distant relatives.

There will be three steps, apparently. In the first step, Israel will release a bunch of murderers who tried to kill Israeli civilians. Then Hamas - the elected government of the Palestinian people - will give the Egyptians the Israeli soldier that they kidnapped from sovereign Israeli land. Then Israel will some more genocidal lunatics who tried to kill Israeli civilians. Then the Egyptians will release the innocent Israeli. Then Israel will release yet more vicious Palestinian murderers.

We're withholding a rant about releasing Barghouti, because if Olmert isn't going to invade the Gaza Strip outright then he's going to have to give something up. We don't like - it shouldn't happen, military options should be used to get Shalit back, etc etc. But if that's not going to happen, any deal will have to involve Barghouti.

But Saadat is a red line that should cost Olmert the Prime Ministry if he tries to cross it. Saadat was behind the assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. We don't care how crazy a terrorist you are - you quite simply don't get to murder sitting Israeli cabinet ministers - to say nothing of miiltary heroes - at your whim. He's an unrepentant, genocidal terrorist dedicated to the nonnegotiable destruction of Israel (in sharp contrast - don't argue - to Barghouti). He should have been killed for his role in the murder of Zeevi, but unfortunately he was too much of a coward to fight to the death and Israel doesn't have the death penalty. Pity.

References:
* Schalit captors want Barghouti, Saadat

Previously:
* International Media: "But Saadat is a Grandfather!" Also, BBC Tells Demonstrable Lie About Past Kidnappings, Makes Up Conspiracy Theory, and Says "Foreigners mostly live harmoniously among the Palestinian population"
* Palestinians Say They Won't Release Shalit Because of Qana - Asks World to Forget That They Weren't Going to Release Him Anyway
* International Media: "But Saadat is a Grandfather!" Also, BBC Tells Demonstrable Lie About Past Kidnappings, Makes Up Conspiracy Theory, and Says "Foreigners mostly live harmoniously among the Palestinian population"

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit