Lebanese Druze terrorist Samir Kuntar's funeral was set for Monday. Hezbollah leaders were expected to vow revenge for his killing, but it is safe to assume that some of the tears they shed were crocodile tears. Kuntar was released from Israeli prison in 2008 thanks to Hezbollah's efforts, only to defy its orders and take Hezbollah's name in (partial) vain. His death will help the organization on two levels: first, by providing a pretext to incite against Israel, and second, by untethering Hezbollah's legacy from Kuntar. "While Kuntar may have been released from jail, his days are numbered," then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly said shortly after his release. He told this to a relative of Smadar Haran, whose family was slaughtered by Kuntar. It was, however, an empty promise, which was supposed to provide Olmert with cover as he tried to explain his fiasco of swapping Kuntar and other terrorists for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. Olmert knew full well that releasing Kuntar (by having the president commute his sentence) was a national disgrace of his own making. After coming to his senses later in his premiership, he refused to accept Hamas' over-the-top demands to secure the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. The Israeli efforts to stand firm in the face of constant pressure to release Arab terrorists suffered a disgraceful setback when Kuntar was released. That said, once he was released, Israel knew that targeting him would undermine its credibility. This concern is what prompted Israel to decide against assassinating Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat in 1982 when he and other PLO members left the port of Beirut for Tunis. The Israel Defense Forces' then-chief Rafael Eitan, who had pledged Israel would not target the PLO men on their way out, delivered on his pledge, despite having Arafat in the crosshairs of an Israeli sniper. Likewise, Israel chose to let Kuntar live, even though he said his presence in Lebanon was only a layover "on my way to Palestine." But this rhetoric translated into concrete action when he became Hezbollah's chief recruiter among the Druze of the Golan Heights. He was also actively involved in setting up forward operating bases near the Syrian-Israeli border. He hoped these bases would serve as a noose on Israel's neck and become the staging ground for cross-border attacks. Whether or not Israel was responsible for his assassination in broad daylight on Sunday, as Arab sources claim, there is no doubt that his death-by-missile in southern Damascus was just. Not just because of the horrific killings in 1979, but because of his bloody actions in 2015. Despite pledging to renounce terrorism upon his release from prison, he never had any plans to do so. Israel will be well served by upholding its pledges rather than giving way to the temptation of targeting released terrorists (although it would be better if Israel never enters such deals to begin with). Having said that, Israel must now communicate another message to the region's terrorist organizations: Israel will live up to any agreement it signs, but there are no free lunches -- those who leave Israeli prisons only to perpetuate more anti-Israel terrorism will become preferred targets. Kuntar is a case in point, and rightly so.
