The tragic
close to the abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser brings
to our whole nation a deep sense of grief, loss and frustration.
It also brings a sense of dismay and foreboding. How will we
now deal with the realities of negotiating with Hamas for the
return of Gilad Shalit? Have we increased the risk and price
of further abductions by taking what many perceived as the only
possible and moral course of action?
But grief,
dismay and foreboding will not bring Gilad home, nor prevent
further abductions. Is there a solution?
Palestinian
treatment of our prisoners and their attacks on civilians
launched from civilian neighbourhoods constitute severe breaches
of the Geneva Conventions and are clear war crimes. And yet our
enemies constantly distort the language and terms of human
rights and international law to demonize Israel. It is time
to call the Palestinian bluff.
Israel should
declare that - after years of this demonization and years of our
enemies playing with our emotions over Ron Arad, Eldad Regev,
Ehud Goldwasser, Gilad Shalit, Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz, Tvi
Feldman and Guy Hever – it is acting against the Palestinian
breaches of international law.
With no further
notice, all Palestinian security prisoners should be denied all
access by third parties – International Committee of the Red
Cross, journalists, families – anyone. Once a prisoner is
taken, his whereabouts, condition, status or even the fact of
his confinement will not be confirmed or denied. Access to
judicial process will be granted, but only to the point that
arrest and confinement is proven legal, and to the extent that
legal counsel accepts these new rules, and agrees not to leak
any information except as necessary to conduct a proper defence.
All other contact with the outside world, stipends from foreign
governments or the Palestinian Authority, cash, gifts, letters
from any source will be forbidden. All opportunities for study,
or any other form of advancement or entertainment will be
prevented. These people will be held prisoner under the same
conditions as our boys. As soon as the fate of our missing
soldiers is satisfactorily resolved; as soon as those still
alive are treated according to international conventions; as
soon as the Palestinians cease their war crimes, we will return
to the natural compliance with those rules that we believe in
and have complied with for the last 60 years.
Illegal? No
doubt there will be immediate appeals to the High Court. No
doubt there will be international pressure. The Government must
not falter. It must immediately prepare the necessary emergency
legislation to allow this track. It must filibuster and delay
until it can be achieved.
We must let the
world know that we are no longer prepared to be victims of its
double standards.
