'PM is crossing Olmert's red lines'

PM is crossing Olmerts

By JPOST.COM STAFF
National Union MKs on Monday warned against releasing terrorists in order to free captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit. The right-wing lawmakers spoke at a press conference which they organized in the Knesset in order to urge Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to reject a prospective deal with Hamas, which they said would increase terror attacks on Israel. MK Arye Eldad told reporters that Netanyahu was "crossing [former prime minister Ehud] Olmert's red lines," and said that many of the prisoners slated for release are comparable to Dimitry Kirilik, who is accused of the multiple homicide of the Oshrenko family. If Kirilik had escaped from prison, Eldad said, "hundreds of police officers would try to catch the monster." He accused the government of "intending to release 450 murders of a similar magnitude." Also speaking at the Jerusalem press conference, MK Uri Ariel said that the deal, which Netanyahu said would be brought to the Knesset for the discussion if and when it is completed, would "bring a life of terror upon us all." National Union MKs Ya'acov Katz and Michael Ben-Ari also attended the press conference. Earlier on Monday, meanwhile, Eldad cast doubt upon the National Security Council's involvement in the potential deal. Standing outside a meeting of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, during which parliamentarians were briefed by Uzi Arad, head of the National Security Council (NSC), Eldad said he received the impression that Netanyahu had not asked the NSC for its stance on the release of prisoners in exchange for Schalit.