Son Of Terror Victim Voices His Feelings About The Hostage Deal

 

Yoel Schwartz and יבלחט"א his mother, Ahuva Liba Schwartz, H'yd.

Yoel Schwartz, the son of Ahuva Liba Schwartz, H’yd, who was murdered in the brutal Egged No. 2 bus bombing in 2003, wrote about the fact that those who planned the attack which killed his mother along with 23 others, including 7 children, are slated to be released in the hostage deal.

Abdullah Sharbati, Majdi Zaatari, and Samer al-Atrash, members of a cell that planned the attack on the No. 2 line as well the bombing of Egged Bus No. 6 in French Hill in 2003, which killed 7 Israelis and injured 20, are slated to be released in the first phase of the deal in exchange for 33 hostages.

Schwartz wrote: “Twenty years have passed since my mother was murdered in the brutal attack on Line 2 in Jerusalem. The pain and loss accompany me every day. Today I find myself dealing with an additional pain: the knowledge that my mother’s murderers, the planners of the deadly attack, are about to be released as part of the hostage deal.”

“I fully understand the longing and struggle of the families of the hostages to see their loved ones return home safely. It is a fundamental human feeling that deeply moves me.”

“Experience with deals like the Shalit deal shows that these terrorists did not abandon the path of terror. Many of them returned to carry out attacks and kill innocent people. They are not just released prisoners; they are active terrorists.”

“I daven for the safe return of the hostages but I want to remind us all of the heavy price that the release of such terrorists may exact from our society in the future.”

“But alongside that, I must voice my difficult feelings: the release of such terrorists, with blood on their hands, is not only a betrayal of the memory of their victims – but also a real and tangible risk.”