The question of amnesty for alleged members of a Jewish underground terrorist gang now on trial or serving sentences for crimes of violence against Arabs in the West Bank is rapidly building up into an explosive issue in Israel.
The demand for immediate release of the Jewish suspects on trial and those already convicted arose from West Bank settlers in reaction to the controversial and generally unpopular prisoner exchange of May 20. Deputy Premier Yitzhak Shamir, leader of Likud, went so far as to promise the wives of the defendants yesterday that their spouses would be released shortly.
Shamir visited the women who are on a hunger strike outside the Knesset building. He was reported to have been himself in an emotional state when he begged them to end their fast because their husbands soon would be freed. He claimed this was the wish of the majority in Israel. “We have been acting on this issue for quite some time now. There is a campaign, a war. There is no need for this strike,” he said.
NO NATIONAL CONSENSUS
It is apparent, however, that there is no national consensus on the issue. The Peace Now movement, campaigning vigorously against release of the Jewish suspects, has organized a mass rally outside the Prime Minister’s residence for this Saturday night intended to express public outrage over what it sees as an attempt to circumvent the law.
Peace Now has succeeded in drawing huge crowds to its rallies in the past, mainly in issues involving the war in Lebanon. It remains to be seen how much public support it can muster against amnesty for the alleged Jewish terrorists.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir is expected to submit to Premier Shimon Peres next week the legal opinion Peres requested with respect to a reprieve for the defendants. Peres made the request in response to demands by Likud ministers in his national unity coalition cabinet for release of the prisoners. It was expected to cool the issue which could lead to a crisis in the Labor-Likud partnership.
President Chaim Herzog, who has the exclusive prerogative to grant clemency in criminal cases, reiterated today that he would not consider any requests for amnesty until the trials now underway are completed and sentences are pronounced.
He made it clear that he would not in any case act under pressure while the issue is the focus of political debate. Herzog declared further that he would not be a party to any attempt to destroy the rule of law which is the only guarantee of an orderly society.
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