A public debate, not a legal one
Palestinian terror has no regard for the lofty value of honor in Arab culture. Before the ink could even dry on the agreement, Hamas had already sent up a trial balloon, claiming that it had forgotten to include several female terrorists and demanding to include them on the list of prisoners to be released.
Hamas was hoping that Israel would be too busy celebrating, immersed in what Vice Prime Minister Moshe (Bogey) Ya'alon called "euphoria," to bother with the last-minute details. Israel, they perceived, had passed the point of no return, and could be coerced into making additional concessions.
The episode was reminiscent of when Yasser Arafat, sitting on a stage in Egypt, refused to sign the agreement he had made with Yitzhak Rabin until Hosni Mubarak called him a dog and demanded that he sign, which he did. Egypt's de-facto leader Mohamed Tantawi apparently whispered similar admonitions on Saturday to Hamas commander Ahmed Jabari. In any case, Hamas didn't dare undo the deal, and will probably not attempt to in the future.
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It's mutual. I am not satisfied with the agreement the Israeli government approved by a large majority. However, once the obligatory steps were taken, I would not lend a hand to a unilateral violation of the commitment given to a terrorist organization. That is the reason for my objection to the painful move by the bereaved families to petition the High Court of Justice to postpone the deal, despite the fact that my heart is with them.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in his books about not giving in to the demands of terrorists, that was not a contractual obligation. If, in his capacity as prime minister, he has not operated exactly in accordance with what he wrote, that does not provide a good enough reason for the legal system to help those who oppose the deal. The deal has been approved, and now the debate belongs in the public arena, and not in the High Court.
The deal is done. High Court deliberations will only cause unnecessary pain. For Israel, nothing has changed. The country needs to concentrate on carefully evaluating those who will be freed, so that one prisoner will not be set free using the identity of another prisoner. Israel still has to ensure that the exchange is carried out smoothly, and, more importantly, prepare for the homecoming of a long-awaited soldier. We must ensure that, from the moment he returns to his parents' home in Mitzpe Hila, Shalit will be given the privacy that he needs.
In Israel, a procedure of uncontrollable joy has taken root, even when the person being celebrated would prefer privacy. Police will need to be prepared to protect the Shalit family's privacy, unless they request otherwise. Those in charge of maintaining order should not let the celebratory mood lull them into a situation where they end up having to explain to the media that they underestimated the public's reaction. We cannot let the celebration descend into an unfortunate situation, or even bodily harm.
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