Detainees reportedly furious after Shalit prisoner deal not brought up for a vote.

Bereaved families in Israel petition High Court against Shalit deal - Terror victims, families aim to delay prisoner exchange claiming prisoner swap deal is 'wholesale release of
murderers'

Among those set to be released are the man behind the 405 bus terror attack
that claimed the lives of 16 people, the murderers of Nachshon Wachsman, the
murderers of yeshiva student Haim Kerman, Amana Muna, who lured 16-year-old
Ophir Nahum via Internet chats to his murder in Ramallah, and others.





Published:
10.14.11

Hamas rift worsens: The disagreements and tensions within Hamas over the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap are reportedly pitting group detainees against each other in Israel's prisons.


A website affiliated with Fatah reported Friday that great tensions
emerged between Hamas prisoners from the West Bank and their counterparts from
the Gaza Strip as result of the swap's characteristics. As it turned out, most released prisoners who will not be allowed to return to
their homes and instead be expelled to various countries abroad are West Bank
residents, while most Gaza detainees would be allowed to go home. Moreover, the
report said, as opposed to Hamas' declarations that any swap would be brought up
for the prisoners' approval, no such vote was held. As result of the above developments, the Fatah website said, great tensions
currently persist between the different groups of prisoners held in Israeli
jails.



Meanwhile, senior Hamas figure Ismail Radwan attempted to allay the
tensions, claiming that the Palestinian prisoners who would be expelled abroad
would return to Gaza later.



Bereaved families petition High Court
against Shalit deal -

Bereaved families filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on Friday,
the first against the Gilad Shalit deal which will see 1,027 Palestinian prisoners being released in exchange for the Hamas-held soldier. They are claiming the deal is a "wholesale release of murderers" and have asked that the implementation of the exchange be delayed.
The families are seeking a delay in order to be given more time to organize a
petition against their loved ones' murderers being freed. It should be noted
that the full list of prisoners set to be released in the deal is only expected
to be published on Sunday – two days before the exchange is expected to go
ahead.



The families have petitioned against the cabinet decision itself claiming it
was "unreasonable and disproportionate" due to the "dramatic number of
terrorists with blood on their hands being released, including arch-murderers
sentenced to multiple life sentences for the murder of dozens of people."

The petitioners also claimed that "this release is like none before it – not
even in the Jibril deal – due to the mental consequences on the victims and the
security threat it creates for civilians and soldiers in the future."


The petitioners are also claiming that the decision is one that includes
moral and humane issues towards a family and a soldier who was kidnapped, and
therefore it is an issue that deserves to be debated publically, all the more so
as part of a legal hearing in the High court.
They added they were promised, at their loved ones' gravesites that "Israel's
hand would find the murderers and carry out justice and here, they find that the
other hand is releasing them under the threat of violence that gnaws at and
undermines the foundations of justice, democracy and equality before law."
The petition against the prime minister, defense minister and chief of staff
was filed by the Almagor Terror Victims Association; Yitzhak Maoz, whose
daughter was murdered in the 2001 Sbarro terror attack; Hovav Nuriel, son of
abduction and murder victim Sasson Nuriel; the Bloom family, who were injured in
a Molotov cocktail attack; Rabbi Shmuel Weiss, whose son was killed in a battle
with terrorists; Ron Kerman who lost his daughter in a Haifa terror attack, and
others.


Some 450 prisoners are set to be released in the first stage of the deal and
the Justice Ministry has already begun to prepare for the handover, including
providing the High Court with possible responses should petitions be filed
against the deal.
Some of the bereaved families are claiming that the price being paid by
Israel is too high.


Responding to public criticism, the Shin Bet noted that from the
organization's perspective it was the best deal they could get.Among those set to be released are the man behind the 405 bus terror attack
that claimed the lives of 16 people, the murderers of Nachshon Wachsman, the
murderers of yeshiva student Haim Kerman, Amana Muna, who lured 16-year-old
Ophir Nahum via Internet chats to his murder in Ramallah, and others.



Meir Indor, CEO of the Almagor Terror Victims Association, told Ynet: "There
are a number of bereaved families who are categorically opposed to the deal.
Some aren't even aware of the fact that the terrorists who murdered their loved
ones are going to be released. "Usually they give you time to go over the names, yet not in this case. This
deal outdoes all previous ones in the number of terrorists being released and
the severity of their deeds."
"The deal must be postponed otherwise the complaints will only be submitted
after the terrorists are released."





http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4135026,00.html



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