I would love to read the transcripts of the negotiations [in the Israel-Hamas prisoner swap], where it was determined that 1,027 prisoners would be freed, and not 1,028, 1,050, or 1,100 (“Arab Spring Seen Forcing Israel’s Hand In Shalit Deal,” Oct. 14). I would also love to see what criteria they used to determine who, if anyone, was too evil or dangerous to release, as opposed to those who were released.
I only hope that Israel treats every one of these prisoners like the U.S. treated Anwar Awlaki [the militant U.S.-born Muslim cleric killed in Yemen]. Each released prisoner, every Hamas official, should feel as though he or she is walking dead, living with a target on his back.
For the future, Israel must institute a death penalty for terrorists. The army should be instructed that in the future all efforts must be made immediately to free a captive soldier, that whatever the military costs of immediate action, they will be less than the political costs of allowing an Israeli soldier to be held hostage.
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