Three Bronx Cheers

The latest rumor in the Gilad Shalit saga is a three-stage prisoner swap that involves using Egypt as an intermediary.

First, Israel will release prisoners sentenced to long terms, and Schalit's captors will transfer him to Egypt.

Then, Israel will release an additional group of prisoners, and Schalit will be transferred from Egypt to Israel.

In the last stage, to be completed some two months after Schalit is home, Israel will free a third group of Palestinian prisoners.

This plan is just as nuts as any other plan involving a prisoner swap of terrorists for Israelis being held by various terrorist groups. Israel has to deal with the increased security threat from the released prisoners, who could include Marwan Barghouti, and would recover a single soldier in this particular swap.

How this is to Israel's benefit is entirely unclear. Doves might claim that Israel would be showing a sign of good will by releasing Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, but isn't it funny how so many of those who have been released in earlier swaps or goodwill measures end up back in Israeli prison, many with Israeli blood on their hands.

No, it is time for the Palestinians to start showing goodwill. Lay down their arms and to release Gilad unconditionally. That's the kind of goodwill that should apply here - not the release of convicted murderers like Barghouti.

Oh, and the Palestinians also want a convicted suicide bomb planner released as well.

Palestinian media reported Monday morning that captors of Cpl. Gilad Schalit were demanding the release of Hassan Salameh as part of a prisoner swap deal to release the soldier.

Salameh is responsible for planning several suicide attacks against Israel which were carried out as a response to an IDF assassination in 1996, Israel Radio reported Monday.

Also among those Hamas want released are jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti who is currently serving five life sentences for murdering Israelis and Ahmed Sadat, the PFLP's secretary- general, responsible for the assassination of former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi.

Hamas is also demanding the release of Fuad Shubaki, a high-ranking Fatah official and the paymaster of the 2001 Karine-A affair, during which the IDF intercepted a Gaza-bound Iranian weapons ship.

Far from making concessions on who would be released, it would appear that the Palestinian terrorists are getting even more bold in their demands - asking for more high profile terrorists being held by Israel.

If Israel even considers these releases, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Palestinian terrorists will not simply conduct more raids like the one that captured Shalit and killed two other Israeli soldiers in order to wring yet more concessions from the Israelis. It will have been shown to be a profitable and valuable tactic against the Israelis in yet another form of asymettrical warfare.

The Palestinians seem that if they can't kill Israelis, they're more than content to kill each other. Fighting among various groups has broken out not only in Gaza, but in the West Bank as well. Some of the fighting is attributed to clan warfare, but some is between PA forces and various terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, at least the Israelis aren't following the Italian lead of paying millions of dollars to terrorists and thugs to secure the release of those kidnapped.

Italy's prime minister, Romano Prodi, came under fire on Monday after the Taliban killed the Afghan translator of an Italian journalist freed in a controversial prisoner swap last month.

Prodi has already had to fight accusations of encouraging hostage-taking in Afghanistan after he pressured the Kabul government to free five Taliban prisoners in exchange for reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo.

On Monday he was accused of double standards over Mastrogiacomo's translator, who was beheaded by the Taliban, and also faced charges that the government paid $2 million to free another Italian journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan last year.

Double standards, a policy that makes no sense from a strategic standpoint, and providing terrorists with incentives to continue their violence. What could go wrong? /sarc

UPDATE:
Just today there was yet another example of a Palestinian who was freed after serving time in Israeli jails for attacking Israelis. She was arrested yet again after being detained with two knives at a checkpoint and that she had been planning to attack the Israelis manning that checkpoint.