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Reconciliation begins in prison
By Akiva Eldar
Tags: Northern Ireland, PA, Israel 

"I came here today to extend a hand in peace to the Palestinian people and to our neighboring Arab states," the prime minister declared at the start of his speech at Annapolis on November 27. "I have no doubt that the reality created in our region in 1967 will change significantly," Ehud Olmert promised. He knows that "it will be as hard as Hell for some of those among us," but assured his listeners that "we are ready for it."

These lofty words were translated this week into a petty argument over the issue of the price of Gilad Shalit's release. Instead of discussing the place of the prisoners in the peace process that is being renewed (really?), policy makers instead busied themselves with the blood on the hands of those in jail and the exchange rate for the deal.

"Blood on their hands" is merely a metaphor which politicians have turned into a sacred command. Israeli law does not recognize the classification of criminal law-breakers and security law-breakers according to that criterion.
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Usually the terms were loosened when there was bargaining with terror organizations, who demanded and received prisoners "with blood on their hands" in return for the Israelis they were holding. They learned that the quickest way to get prisoners out of Israeli prisons is to hold Israeli captives.

The governments of Israel are the ones who forbade releasing terrorists, with or without "blood on their hands," and they are the ones who have the authority to release them. What is the significance of a "historic process of peace and reconciliation" if not to courageously pardon those who have committed crimes, no matter how grave, in the struggle to free their people from a foreign ruler?

Those who are considered low-life terrorists in the eyes of one side, receive from the other side the glory reserved for war heroes.

The formal legal difference between a security (or political) prisoner and a prisoner of war does not interest tens of thousands of Palestinian mothers, fathers and children whose loved ones are in Israeli jails.

It is easy to imagine what the prisoners relatives think when they see their leaders embracing the wardens-in-chief of their sons.

Would Olmert go near Mahmoud Abbas if the security forces who are subordinate to the Palestinian Authority chairman were holding the settlers who this week critically wounded Palestinian farmers?

What a fuss there would be here if the government were to open negotiations with the Palestinians at a time when a popular Israeli leader and fighter, someone like Marwan Barghouti, was in jail.

Ten years ago, the governments of Britain and Ireland freed a large group of Republican prisoners and allowed them to participate in the meeting of Sinn Fein institutions to persuade them to support the Good Friday agreement.

The agreement stated that all the prisoners who belonged to organizations that signed the accord would be freed within two years. That included those ''with blood on their hands.''

The staged release began even before the fighters had been disarmed and was not stopped even when there were terrorist attacks.

The law was altered for this purpose and the definition of the prisoners was changed from terrorists to political detainees.

The Irish experience shows us that had the prisoners not been released, it would not have been possible to have a peace agreement. But Olmert does not have to go as far as Northern Ireland in order to understand that reconciliation starts with the release of the prisoners of the partner to reconciliation.

In May 2006, it was the Fatah prisoners, headed by Barghouti, who drew up the first agreement between the Palestinian camps (the National Conciliation Document) which accepted the two-state solution and the cessation of terror within the Green Line.

At Annapolis, Olmert made do with a general declaration about "historic reconciliation."

When he spoke about changing the reality that was created in our region in 1967, he refrained from describing the new reality he was promising the Arabs.

Indeed, it is difficult to stand before the public and the families of terror victims and convince them that freeing the murderers of their children can stop murderous acts aimed at other children.

If Olmert is afraid to deal with this difficulty, how will he be able to deal with difficulties that are much greater - to evacuate tens of thousands of settlers, to divide Jerusalem and to find a decent solution to the problem of the refugees?
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  1.   LAND IS THE KEY, NOT PRISONERS 10:21  |  indrajaya 28/12/07
  2.   Peace deal must rather start with a mutual recognition by the 10:23  |  Avihu 28/12/07
  3.   FREE GILAD SHALIT 10:24  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/12/07
  4.   competition between gideon levy and akiva eldar 10:52  |  har-zion 28/12/07
  5.   Respectfully Disagree 11:44  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/12/07
  6.   the financial times hates israel 13:06  |  akiva yasser arafat 28/12/07
  7.   after xmas savings: 10,000 for shalit!! 13:14  |  such a deal 28/12/07
  8.   Boorish Haaretz Mind 13:33  |  B 28/12/07
  9.   #3/ 1 V 1000`s 14:46  |  tilted scales 28/12/07
  10.   ENTIRE CONFLICT EXPLAINED IN LESS THAN 20 LINES 15:16  |  G. Marcus 28/12/07
  11.   Liar Eldar,Brits have only now finished trial of Omagh-bomber 15:18  |  Absolute Sweden 28/12/07
  12.   Withdraw from the land not allocated to israel by UN Resolution 15:42  |  lakshmi 28/12/07
  13.   prisoners 15:47  |  Marc 28/12/07
  14.   No Land No Security. 15:49  |  Jacob 28/12/07
  15.   Just recognize legitimate POWs 15:57  |  Tosefta 28/12/07
  16.   Pardon and Amnesty are two different things, Akiva. 16:16  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/12/07
  17.   What about Shalit? 16:19  |  KUTW 28/12/07
  18.   #1 indrajaya - Who is "greedy for land"? 16:25  |  Bo 28/12/07
  19.   Peace deal must begin with... 16:26  |  Walter 28/12/07
  20.   Akiva Eldar`s last paragraph really puts things in perspective 16:27  |  Smadar 28/12/07
  21.   Reconciliation begins in psychiatric ward 16:35  |  joe 28/12/07
  22.   #2 Avihu - The Palestinians refuse because ... 16:36  |  Bo 28/12/07
  23.   Just recognize legitimate POWs 16:46  |  Tosefta 28/12/07
  24.   Markof Lewiston.....Those would be my choices too 17:01  |  Lynn 28/12/07
  25.   Historic reconciliation, is a two way street 17:10  |  Jacob Blues 28/12/07
  26.   Just recognize legitimate POWs 17:34  |  Tosefta 28/12/07
  27.   Self defeating proposal,release terrorists=more terrorism=no Peac 17:44  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/12/07
  28.   Eldar wrong as usual. These prisoners would not help make peace 17:45  |  McQueen 28/12/07
  29.   Reconciliation and Eldar 17:45  |  Ephraim 28/12/07
  30.   RAT from Jakarta, prophecy fulfilled of 85 killed in Java 17:48  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/12/07
  31.   What a Stupid Statement 17:53  |  chick 28/12/07
  32.   Only dead terrorists could be released... 18:38  |  Misha 28/12/07
  33.   Entire conflict explained in less than 20 lines 18:42  |  G. Marcus 28/12/07
  34.   "crimes, no matter how grave" 18:56  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 28/12/07
  35.   To Indrajaya. The first step to peace is 18:57  |  Altalena 28/12/07
  36.   Yes! Lets start with Yigal Amir, Ami Popper 18:58  |  Freedom Fighter 28/12/07
  37.   #5 Mark of Lewiston 19:11  |  Observer 28/12/07
  38.   Eldar - Still Crazy After All These Years 19:16  |  Tod Zuckerman 28/12/07
  39.   Islam drives its followers insane, that is the ME conflict root c 19:17  |  Genuine Tosefta 28/12/07
  40.   #14 chick 19:18  |  Observer 28/12/07
  41.   Margie & KUTW - Gilad Shalit 19:26  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/12/07
  42.   # 20 Tosefta... the only thing shameful about 19:30  |  Lynn 28/12/07
  43.   Cipora #29 19:34  |  Ephraim 28/12/07
  44.   Indy...I can see how that is an important factor 19:37  |  Lynn 28/12/07
  45.   Smadar 19:39  |  Ephraim 28/12/07
  46.   21 Lynn - Frustration 19:41  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/12/07
  47.   1 Indrajaya - Unilateralism Doesn`t Work 19:44  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/12/07
  48.   32/34 Observer 19:57  |  Mark of Lewiston 28/12/07
  49.   Observer...did you notice Mark brought up the 20:04  |  Lynn 28/12/07
  50.   Peace first , release of prisoners after.make more sense 20:06  |  BenGurion 28/12/07
  51.   only 5% of Israelis 20:23  |  Sahar 28/12/07
  52.   release all the prisoners 20:27  |  peter 28/12/07
  53.   The Irish Lesson 21:11  |  Sean 28/12/07
  54.   Smadar of Mars 21:28  |  Tizak Hamra 28/12/07
  55.   Advice to Lakshmi #10 22:07  |  Tosefta 28/12/07
  56.   Avihu is right.... 22:14  |  Dave from Chicago 28/12/07
  57.   #16 Say Bo----the Jews 22:16  |  ballistic 28/12/07
  58.   Mark of Lewiston 22:18  |  Dave from Ch 28/12/07
  59.   #5 Mark from Lewiston 22:24  |  Dave from Chicago 28/12/07
  60.   Perfidious Irish liar Sean 22:27  |  Absolute Sweden 28/12/07
  61.   David Trimble,Nobel Prize for NI peace contradicts Eldar 23:05  |  Absolute Sweden 28/12/07
  62.   #50 ballistic - Your apartheid analogy is false 23:07  |  Bo 28/12/07
  63.   #28 G. Marcus - Clear as a winter day 23:14  |  Bo 28/12/07
  64.   #20, Tosefta 23:14  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 28/12/07
  65.   POW`s 23:25  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 28/12/07
  66.   smadar akiva eldar and perspective 23:35  |  meir dagan 28/12/07
  67.   #29 Say Cipora 00:08  |  ballistic 29/12/07
  68.   peter of Montreal #45 00:18  |  Ephraim 29/12/07
  69.   Thank you Cipora and Tosefta #57 00:24  |  Ephraim 29/12/07
  70.   ballistic ----64 00:51  |  Ahmed the great 29/12/07
  71.   #64- on prisoners 01:19  |  peter 29/12/07
  72.   wrong as usual peace will begin when pals honour their obligation 01:35  |  ralph 29/12/07
  73.   57 Dave from Chicago 02:14  |  Mark of Lewiston 29/12/07
  74.   Ireland does not equal Israel 02:58  |  Tim 29/12/07
  75.   And what was the point? (Bird from Outerspace #65) 03:43  |  Tosefta 29/12/07
  76.   ballistic....the Zionist Church 03:47  |  Lynn 29/12/07
  77.   Arabs want only Land. They don`t care about anything else. 03:56  |  Sol 29/12/07
  78.   CJK # 65 POWs 04:04  |  American in NY 29/12/07
  79.   #45 Ephraim 04:20  |  Smadar 29/12/07
  80.   77. its all our land Sol..and you need to get out 04:50  |  muslim 29/12/07
  81.   10. Marcus in La La Land 04:52  |