Ban Ki-Moon is hailing the exchange of live prisoners for dead Israeli soldiers as the “completion” of part of UNSC 1701.

The secretary general conveyed his heartfelt condolences and said he is deeply satisfied that the humanitarian aspects of Security Council Resolution 1701 have finally been met.

Really? Because just a few months ago, he said that any conditions on the release of Regev and Goldwasser were “outside the scope” of 1701.

“Hezbollah continues to refuse to provide any information on the release or fate of abducted soldiers, and places conditions and demands for the release that are far outside the scope of resolution 1701,” Ban wrote in the report, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz.

The secretary-general also cites Israeli intelligence reports of Hezbollah’s rearmament drive since the end of the Second Lebanon War. The militia is said to have replenished its arsenal of rockets and missiles - including 10,000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range projectiles - which are now deployed on both sides of the Litani River.

“The reports of Hezbollah rearming are a cause of great concern posing serious challenges to the sovereignty, stability, and independence of Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1701,” Ban wrote in the report.

It’s amazing, isn’t it, how the world’s memory fails at every instance of Arabs and Muslims breaking UN resolutions, and yet, they hold Israel responsible for breaking resolutions that are nonbinding, or that she never broke in the first place.

The Exception Clause, in all of its wonder.

Oil is down another $4 per barrel.

And may we all say: Amen.

Fluffy kitty posts to come later today.

The news just reeks, otherwise.

Mahmoud Abbas sent his condolences today to the families of the dead soldiers.

We learned, after two years of Hezbullah refusing to acknowledge proof of life, that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are dead. On this day, the president of the Palestinians, who is negotiating with Israel to create a Palestinian state, might have some words that the leader of a people tends to deliver at times like this. And indeed, Abbas has delivered greetings to those involved in the prisoner exchange.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has congratulated the family of Samir Kuntar and the four other prisoners who will be returned to Lebanon as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah.

Okay, let’s take the mindset of someone who has no dog in this fight. Abbas was a “resistance” fighter, the Lebanese captured in the war are “resistance” fighters, and Samir Kuntar worked with one of Abbas’ old buddies, Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front, and the man responsible for the hijacking of the Achille Lauro and the death of Leon Klinghoffer (in a wheelchair, shot at point-blank range). So now we see why he would congratulate the Lebanese. And even Kuntar’s family. But did he extend any condolences? You know, the leader of a people tends to send condolences to the families of the bereaved when events like this occur.

He also expressed his condolences to the families of Hizbullah fighters receiving their relatives’ bodies.

Ah. To the families of the Lebanese, but not to the Goldwassers and Regevs.

And with that action, the “moderate” Palestinian president’s mindset is shown for what it is: An unrepentant, inveterate terrorist, and leader of terrorists, whose doctoral thesis was titled “”The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement.”

These are Israel’s “partners in peace,” that Condi Rice are pushing Israel to jump ahead with in the two-state solution. And the world will continue to label him as “moderate” and make excuses for his not expressing condolences to Israel. But they will never admit that Abbas is still in the middle of a war to destroy Israel. His actions prove this, time and again.

Abbas couldn’t so much as make a polite statement regarding the loss of Regev and Goldwasser.

His silence on this topic speaks volumes.

By now it is over. The coffins handed over across the border today contain the two bodies they were supposed to contain. The two grieving families will get the closure of their two year long nightmare.

The decision to go ahead with this exchange, with almost total certainty that we’ll be paying the price of releasing a baby killer for two bodies, was not an easy one. I wouldn’t wish to be one of the people on whose shoulders the decision fell. But it is over and done with.

As for the question that will be debated for a long time: was the exchange worth it? - a lot of hot air and acrimony were already spent and will be spent in the future. Uncounted angles, including the future victims of the “surrender” to the blackmail, the loss of face, the new kidnappings awaiting and the damage to something called “national psyche“, whatever it means - all these and more will be thrown into the ring. Surprisingly or not, many of these angles are valid. All, or almost all of them, were part of the excruciating decision process.

There is, though, only one compelling cause. It is the cause of an IDF soldier - the grunt that goes to (and sometimes over) the border, doing his/her job as well as possible. Many of these soldiers leave their wives and children behind to do so, without fanfares and complaints. This is how it is and, unfortunately, this is how it will be for a long time in the future.

As an ex-soldier, I can safely say in the name of most of us that our unshakable belief that IDF and, indeed, the nation, will get us back from captivity, alive or dead, makes the service bearable. Without this belief IDF will not be what it is. The army that does not take care of its POWs is not worth serving in and the nation that forgets it sons is not worth fighting for.

There are a lot of things that could be said against and about the travesty of the current government, about the way the negotiations with Hezbollah were carried out, about the dirty politics and dirty politicians. One thing, however, should not be forgotten - it is not about politics, not about national pride and even not about the grieving families. It is about the soldiers.

As for Samir Kuntar, who will become a most celebrated hero in Lebanon after crushing a Jewish baby’s skull against a rock: even in the pain we all feel because of the necessity to release him, there is a silver lining. Look at the people who celebrate release of one of the most inhuman murderers and learn. Look at the sweets being handed around to the crowds in Gaza, at Lebanese president and prime minister receiving the monster, at Shiites and others lining the roads on the way to the vermin’s family house, at Palestinian president Abu Mazen congratulating the “hero’s” family. Look, learn and remember.

And how could we forget the chief sleazebag pulling the ropes from the bunker, the “mastermind” who became so adept in torturing the minds and the souls of the people he hates? A person who accumulated so much “good will” of so many Israelis should be worried about his future indeed. Where there is a will, there is a way, Nasrallah. Sleep badly.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.

Boker Tov Boulder lists a number of prisoner releases and some of the crimes committed by the released terrorists.

Elder of Ziyon finds that the “moderate” country of Lebanon is celebrating the release of the murderer Kuntar.

Israel Matzav looks into the malaise Israel suffers from that led to the release.

This Ongoing War contrasts Israel’s values with that of its enemies.

Daled Amos has misgivings about Misgav.

Israelly Cool presents Trivia Time. The answer, I’m sure is someone who is usually described as pro-Western or “moderate.”

Meryl wishes Israel would lavish a generous parting gift on Samir Kuntar.

Treppenwitz weighs in with Let the enemy decide the rules:

These useful idiots pleaded for the IDF to spare the poor, hapless Lebanese who were caught between Israel’s mighty army and Hezbollah’s well entrenched forces… pointing out that the Lebanese deserved mercy because they are a modern, secular people just like us.

‘Moderate’ Lebanese blogs were linked, and the grand old days when Beirut was known as the ‘Paris of the East’ were invoked repeatedly… while doctored photos of burning Beirut neighborhoods became like fixed wallpaper behind the media’s talking heads who dutifully read Hezbollah scripts about Israeli atrocities.

Ignored was the fact that these cosmopolitan Lebanese had watched approvingly for decades as Hezbollah set up rocket batteries and supporting military infrastructure in their towns and villages. Ignored was the cover and support these poor secular Lebanese willingly provided to Hezbollah for a generation.

Ha’aretz illustrates the kidnapping. The Regev and Goldwasser families put on a brave face.

Shlomo Goldwasser, the father of Ehud Goldwasser whose body was returned to Israel Wednesday morning as part of a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, said after seeing the his son’s coffin that he and his wife did not want to see their son’s body because they prefer to remember him as he was.

Background on the mediator.

Officially, Conrad’s mediation effort has been on behalf of the UN secretary general, because the return of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser is part of Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the Second Lebanon War.

Except that the return of Regev and Goldwasser according to 1701 was supposed to be unconditional. Not only has Hezbollah re-armed under the watchful eye of UN forces, the UN refuses even to insist that the terms of 1701 be obeyed in this case. Not to mention that the kidnapping itself and the presence of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon violate 425.

Ron ben Yishai on the speech we won’t hear from Olmert.

Therefore, even though we recently acquired credible information that Goldwasser and Regev are no longer alive, the government decided, on my recommendation, to approve the deal and ignore the warnings issued by the Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs. Had the Second Lebanon War ended in clear victory, had the Winograd Commission not criticized my conduct, and had my public and moral status not been eroded in the wake of the Talansky affair, I may have acted differently. Yet in my current status, I had no choice.

Danny Haran’s brother feels “defeated.”

Israel gets ready to pay interest on the transaction:

The feeling is shared by many in the IDF Northern Command, where senior commanders estimate that after two years of quiet, Hizbullah may use the period immediately following the swap to strike at Israel. While the possibility of another kidnapping attack against IDF soldiers is being taken into account, there is also a fear in the IDF that Hizbullah may try to infiltrate an Israeli town along the northern border.

No wonder it’s being called Hezbollah’s ultimate victory.

Crosposted on Soccer Dad.

Regev and Goldwasser are dead, and Israel has set Hamas an example to murder Gilad Shalit, because it won’t matter if he’s dead or alive—Israel will deal for his body just as much as she would deal for his living person. And the terrorists are celebrating. The democratically-elected “moderate” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated convicted child killer Samir Kuntar’s family.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday welcomed the execution of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hizbullah. Abbas congratulated the family of released Lebanese murderer Samir Kuntar and sent his condolences to the Lebanese families receiving their loved ones’ bodies as part of the deal.

Hamas’ prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, congratulated Kuntar and Hizbullah for “the great victory of the resistance, which proved the rightness of our way.”

He said Hamas would not abandon the Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.

[...] “Today we stress again that we won’t give up our prisoners. We won’t be able to waive these heroes without an honorable deal for our prisoners in Israel. The Israelis must pay a price. They must know that they will pay a price in return for an exchange deal. We cannot accept having these prisoners remain in jail.”

How many terrorists will be set free for Gilad Shalit? Thousands? How many will murder again?

Israel will pay a very high price for this exchange. As I said before, I’m not an Israeli. I can’t understand the pain they feel about not knowing if their sons are dead or alive. But I can predict the outcome of these actions. There will be more dead Israeli sons and daughters, and the terrorists will try, again and again, to kidnap (or kill and kidnap) more Israelis to exchange for their murderers in prison.

Ehud Olmert is presiding over one of the worst deals in Israel’s history. But Ariel Sharon did the same several years ago.

And here you see the difference between Israel, a civilized nation, and the nations of savages that surround her. Civilized human beings do not celebrate the acts of murderers.

The sorrow that swept across Israel with the images of the coffins contrasted sharply with the hero’s welcome that awaited convicted killer Samir Kantar upon his return to a homeland he left 29 years ago to set out on his deadly mission.

Hezbollah supporters set up a makeshift stage in the coastal town of Naqoura and a drum corps awaited the prisoners’ return. A giant red carpet was rolled out along a road next to the seashore.

On the platform stood a large photograph of a weeping Israeli woman. A nearby sign read, “Israel is shedding tears of pain.” Another read: “Lebanon is shedding tears of joy.”

Hundreds of Lebanese wearing yellow caps crowded in a narrow corridor between rows of banana trees and metal railings set up to along the road. An overhang shielded Shiite Muslim sheiks and other dignitaries from the midday sun.

An official ceremony was to follow at Beirut Airport with Lebanon’s president, prime minister and parliament speaker in attendance. Nasrallah was to address what is expected to be a huge celebration at the group’s stronghold south of Beirut.

Then again, in civilized nations, some assholes try to equivocate a murderer’s past and make him look like something of a “freedom fighter” instead of the brute that murdered a child and her father.

I am running out of any words that don’t include terms that I would probably be pilloried for at a later date.

But I can tell you quite plainly that right now my rage is Hulk-level. I wish nothing but ill for Kuntar and the bastards that sent him to Israel to hurt innocents. I leave you with this quote from the murderer’s mother, who will be able to hold her son again—something that the Regevs and Goldwassers will never do:

Mrs. Kuntar turns defensive when asked about the child. “Certainly, it bothers me,” she said in the 2006 interview. “She wasn’t guilty of anything.”

Neither were the rest of his victims. Neither were Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. You cannot say the same for Kuntar.

From the NYT:

Hero’s Welcome Expected in Lebanon for Captive of Israel
Perhaps Israel’s most reviled prisoner, Samir Kuntar, will return to a hero’s welcome when he crosses into Lebanon this week, 29 years after he left its shores in a rubber dinghy to kidnap Israelis from the coastal town of Nahariya.

That raid went horribly wrong, leaving five people dead, a community terrorized and a nation traumatized. Two Israeli children and their father were among those killed.

The Times then goes on to humanize Samir Kuntar pleading that he had a hard childhood. It also gives a rather abbreviated summary of the trial, quoting a doctor who testified that Einat was be

Point 1: Headline should read: Hero’s Welcome expected in Lebanon for Mass Murderer.
(See Elder of Ziyon)
Point 2: “Horribly wrong?” When armed terrorists infiltrate a country and attempt to take hostages it’s not surprising that people - often innocents - will die. The deaths of Danny Haran, his daughters and policeman Eliayhu Shachar were not unforeseen consequences of Samir Kuntar and his confederates. It’s not like he was driving to his prom, took his eyes off the road and plowed into a crowd of pedestrians. That would be something gone horribly wrong. The gang of terrorists entered Israel intent on committing acts of violence. They succeeded in committing violence, even if they had other plans in mind.

The Times goes on to recount the unfortunate circumstances of Mr. Kuntar’s youth and then provides a skewed summary of Kuntar’s trial designed to raise doubts about his role in the murders of Danny and Einat Haran. (A more complete account of the trial is available at Israel’s MFA website. h/t Backspin.)

It doesn’t just take 30 years of hindsight to humanize a murderer Honest Reporting notes that news organizations were doing it immediately after the bulldozer attack in Israel two weeks ago.

There was no excuse for the story in the Times. The reporter consciously made every effort to minimize Samir Kuntar’s guilt and raises no serious questions about societies that lionize such monsters. It’s not like Kuntar is remorseful.

Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, whom Israel has agreed to free as part of a possible prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah, has vowed to continue engaging in terror after his release.

(h/t Solomonia)

Something did go horribly wrong. When a newspaper loses all its moral bearings and effectively defends the indefensible it loses its moral authority.

Kuntar deserves no sympathy, just some lead.
UPDATE: Jeffrey Goldberg via memeorandum:

If the raiders had succeeded in kidnapping Israeli civilians without murdering children, in other words, would it have gone just fine, by Craig Smith’s standards?

Alternatively James Taranto asks:

What does the Times think would have happened if the “raid” had gone right?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

I have one tiny request of just one of the IDF soldiers that will be escorting Samir Kuntar to the prisoner exchange.

The deal will take place as follows:

• Kuntar and the four other prisoners were transferred from jail to a military facility near Rosh Hanikra on Tuesday night.
• Simultaneously, 23 trucks carrying 199 bodies of Hizbullah fighters began making their way to the Rosh Hanikra area.
• Regev and Goldwasser are expected to arrive at the exchange point in Rosh Hanikra at 9 am.
• The two soldiers will then be identified in a process which may take several hours.
• At the end of the identification process, Major-Generals Gadi Shamni and Elazar Stern will arrive at the homes of the captives’ families and will inform them of their loved ones fate.
• The families will make their way to the Shraga Camp in the Nahariya area, where they will meet the two soldiers. (If the troops are returned dead, their funerals are likely to be held on Thursday.)
• Upon the completion of the investigation, the five prisoners and 199 bodies will be transferred to Lebanon.

My request? Kindly give him back with a few ounces of lead inside his head.

I think it would send the perfect message back to Hezbullah and Hamas.