Contrary to common sense and basic morality, the leadership of the General Security Service (Shabak) released from custody an important Hamas terrorist — “the director of the Shifa Hospital in Gaza,” responsible, according to dozens of testimonies already collected, for turning the medical facility into one of Hamas’s main headquarters, where Israeli citizens who had been taken hostage by terrorists were held, tortured and murdered.
Together with him, 49 other terrorists were released. According to Shabak officials, this was done against the catastrophic shortage of space for terrorists in detention facilities, which has already led to numerous cancellations of terrorist detentions in Judea and Samaria.
Here it is worth recalling the recent blatant interference in the security services by radical Supreme Court justices who ordered the closure of a facility specially equipped for terrorist detention at Sde Teiman, as allegedly not complying with international law.
According to Shabak officials, the terrorists released included those whose threat to society was deemed minimal. One way or another, the result was the release of a Hamas leader who could and should have been an important bargaining chip for Israel, both in the hostage exchange effort and in providing evidence of Hamas’ cynical use of medical centres as terrorist headquarters and warehouses.
In total, as has now become known, 120 terrorists have already been released for the purpose of freeing up space in prisons.
This mass release, of course, took place without any conditions being placed on Hamas, not even a demand to get any information about the abductees, to get them medicine, etc. Nothing!
This whole situation looks like a blatant outrage of common sense and a blatant sabotage (if not worse) of efforts to achieve victory over Hamas.
What is perhaps most blatant in this story is that the head of Shabak, Ronen Berezovsky (Bar), again, as on the eve of the Hamas invasion of the villages around Gaza, “forgot” to inform the government of his agency’s decision. And if earlier one might have assumed that this was a case of catastrophic unprofessionalism and carelessness, today, amid the recurring stories of this kind, it is hard not to see a definite consistency in them.
In fact, state officials (who are the heads of law enforcement agencies, judges, etc.), bypassing the political leadership elected by the society, make far-reaching political steps that correspond to their political preferences, although the society has authorised the election of completely different people with absolutely opposite political vision.
Shabak’s irresponsible decision, has caused outrage in the government. However, outrage is clearly not enough in this case anymore.
We understand that, in the context of the war, the government, wishing to maintain social cohesion, refused to take the obviously necessary steps to immediately dismiss the heads of the security services who concealed from the political leadership the threats posed by Hamas on the eve of the invasion. Nevertheless, the current behaviour of the security forces, who continue to sabotage government decisions and seem willing to lose a war in order to bring about Netanyahu’s removal, requires the government to take decisive action.
The Tikva (Hope) Forum of the families of kidnapped Israelis issued the following statement: “While our loved ones continue to be held captive by Hamas, a bloody murderer and accomplice to Hamas terror, the director of Shifa Hospital, who hid a veritable terrorist nest of weapons and bunkers where several Israeli hostages were killed, has been released. All this under his watch. Instead of using him to exchange him for kidnapped Israelis, Israel released him, along with dozens of other allegedly barely involved terror detainees.”
Alas, the blatant sabotage of the leftist Israeli “elites” does not end there. Just these hours, the Supreme Court is hearing a lawsuit filed by left-wing radical organisations seeking permission for 14,000 sick and wounded people from the Gaza Strip to enter Israel!
It’s hard to believe this is actually happening. But this is our current reality. The leftist “elites”, who imagine themselves to be the guardians and moral standard-setters, who have arrogated to themselves the right to decide for the entire society what to do and how to do it, refuse to understand that their mad desire to be kind to the enemy is perceived as our common weakness, inspires our enemies, and does not bring us any closer to victory and the release of the hostages.
Before the hearing began, Knesset Member Almog Cohen harshly criticised the actions of left-wing organisations: “How can you not be ashamed to represent and defend supporters and collaborators of terrorists right in the middle of a war? After all, your children are there too!”
The judges decided to continue the discussion behind closed doors.
“I fought on 7 October and lost many friends and dozens of fighters I knew personally, — MP Almog continued. — It cannot be that our children, including 9-month-old Kfir Bibas, continue to be held there, while we are here discussing the health of our enemies’ children. All of Gaza cheered on 7 October when our children were burned alive. We could not even begin to discuss such a lawsuit!”
Recall, all this is happening on the same day that more than twenty rockets have already been fired at us from the Gaza Strip. And all this on the eve of the approaching heavy war with Hizbullah in the north, which will be led, it seems, again by the same generals...
What is happening to us is shameful and terrible. Alas, we can only trust in G-d and pray for the speedy coming of Moshiach from the House of David! Long live our Rebbe King Moshiach forever!