Prisoner Releases Are a Terror Victim’s Nightmare

Stephen M. Flatow / JNS.org

Gilad Shalit salutes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after prisoner exchange deal in Oct. 2011. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

I knew this day would come. Ever since Israel began to release prisoners as a “goodwill” measure and for hostages, I knew that the time would come when terrorists with “blood on their hands” would be released.

As if the result of freeing terror prisoners in 2011 in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for five years, wasn’t enough of a warning, the next round of releases will be just as troublesome for Israelis.

Following the murder of my daughter Alisa in a 1995 terror attack in Kfar Darom, Israel was able to capture, convict and sentence to life in prison some of the terrorists involved in her death. While they sit today in a maximum-security prison under life sentences, I am sure they are smiling more than usual because of the potential of their being included in the list of those soon-to-be released prisoners.

Sure, the Israeli hostage families are delighted over the prospect of being united with their loved ones who have been held captive for more than a year in indescribable conditions below ground in Gaza. I’m delighted, too, that families will be reunited, but my joy is tempered by knowing that these terrorists are being turned loose to commit terror again.

This is not my first experience coping with Israel’s determination to release prisoners. Twice before in the last 25 years when prisoner releases were being carried out, I eagerly sought the list of prisoners being released. And when I did get it, I carefully combed the list of Arabic names transliterated into Hebrew looking for the names Nidal Moustafa Bouri, Ahmed Douad Abu Dachi, Maram Ibrahim Salameh and Al-Halim Saheb Omar Balbasi, each serving life sentences for the Kfar Darom bombing. Unlike the United States, Israel does not have a death penalty for terrorists.

There are good reasons to not release convicted terrorists. While such decisions are often driven by diplomatic, security or humanitarian considerations, they carry significant risks and negative implications. The current deal to release prisoners is harmful to Israel, and, in the long run, Western society for several reasons.

The release of prisoners diminishes Israel’s deterrence against terrorism. If it is Israel’s policy of harsh consequences for those who commit acts of terror to deter potential attackers, releasing such prisoners undermines this goal, signaling to its enemies that even those responsible for the deaths of innocent citizens may eventually be freed. The perception of accountability is weakened.

The release of terrorists emboldens groups such as Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad to commit terror attacks, believing that the price for their actions may not be permanent incarceration. When prisoners with blood on their hands are released, it is celebrated as a victory by terrorist organizations. They portray such releases as evidence of their strength and ability to pressure Israel. Public celebrations, parades and glorification of released prisoners not only boost the morale of these organizations but also strengthen their standing among supporters. This can lead to increased recruitment, fundraising and operational activity, thereby escalating threats to Israeli security.

Releasing prisoners, particularly those convicted of murder, can erode public trust in the government and judicial system as it is viewed as undermining the rule of law. Many Israelis feel that such decisions betray the memory of victims and the principles of justice. Victims and the families of victims often bear lifelong scars—both physical and emotional. The outrage and anguish are palpable. We feel that they and their loved ones’ suffering has been tossed aside for political expediency.

Perhaps the most dangerous consequence of releasing prisoners with blood on their hands is the potential to incentivize kidnappings and hostage-taking. Terrorist organizations have historically used Israeli captives as leverage to negotiate the release of prisoners. For example, the 2011 exchange of more than 1,000 prisoners, including many with blood on their hands, for Shalit set a precedent that such tactics can yield significant results.

Case in point: Yahya Sinwar, the orchestrator of the Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath, was serving multiple life sentences for orchestrating the murders of both Israelis and Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. Released in the Shalit prisoner exchange, he ascended to a leadership position within Hamas, becoming its de facto leader in Gaza until he was killed by the Israel Defense Forces last year.

As David M. Weinberg, senior fellow and director of the Jerusalem-based Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, wrote last year, “The danger of mass-releasing Palestinian terrorists is clear. A deal that frees vicious murderers of Israeli Jews … in exchange for Israel’s innocent suffering hostages endangers even more Israeli lives down the road—and that road is not notably long.”

Former CIA analyst admits leaking secret info about Israeli response to Iran

JNS Staff

Asif William Rahman, 34, will be sentenced on May 15 and faces up to 10 years in prison.

The former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Va., pleaded guilty on Friday to leaking classified information about Israel’s military response to Iran’s Oct. 1 missile attacks.

“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” stated Matthew Olsen, a U.S. assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s national security division.

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets,” Olsen added.

Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI national security branch, stated that “with today’s plea, Asif Rahman acknowledges he betrayed the trust of his country by sharing classified information in spite of the risk to the United States and our allies.”

“Government employees who are granted security clearances and given access to our nation’s classified information must promise to protect it,” Wells added. “Rahman blatantly violated that pledge and took multiple steps to hide his actions.”

The Justice Department announcement didn’t mention Israel. On Oct. 1, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel—its second direct attack on the Jewish state. Israel intercepted most of the missiles with U.S. and Jordanian military support. 

It stated that per court documents, Rahman accessed and printed two top secret documents on Oct. 17 about “a U.S. foreign ally and its planned actions against a foreign adversary.”

“Rahman removed the documents, photographed them and transmitted them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them,” per the department. “By Oct. 18, 2024, the documents appeared publicly on multiple social media platforms, complete with the classification markings.”

Rahman also “deleted and edited journal entries and written work product on his personal electronic devices to conceal his personal opinions on U.S. policy and drafted entries to construct a false narrative regarding his activity,” the Justice Department stated.

“Rahman also destroyed multiple electronic devices, including a personal mobile device and an internet router he used to transmit classified information and photographs of classified documents, and discarded the destroyed devices in public trash receptacles in an effort to thwart potential investigations into him and his unlawful conduct,” it added.

Rahman also accessed and printed secret national defense information “repeatedly” between spring 2024 and that November and took the documents to his home, where he copied them and “altered them in an effort to conceal their source and his activity,” per the Justice Department.

“Rahman then communicated top secret information that he learned in the course of his employment to multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive it,” it added.

A grand jury indicted him on Nov. 7, and he was arrested when he came to work on Nov. 12. “He has remained in custody since his arrest,” the Justice Department said.

Rahman faces 10 years in prison for the two counts to which he pleaded guilty, of “willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense.” His sentencing is scheduled for May 15.