President Chaim Herzog said Wednesday he would reject any pressure to grant blanket amnesty to convicted members of a Jewish terrorist underground still in prison.
He told an audience during a visit to the Etzion bloc of settlements in the West Bank that he would continue his policy of considering each request for amnesty individually, on its merit. He said expression of regret was “certainly an element” in his consideration.
Herzog’s remarks were prompted by the picketing of Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s residence by Gush Emunim members who demanded that the Jews convicted of terrorist acts be given at least the same treatment as Avraham Shalom, the former chief of the Shin Bet and his associates accused of perjury, who were pardoned by Herzog without being formally charged.
Herzog said he was totally at peace with that decision despite the controversy it aroused.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
