MK: Use Hamas Captives as Shield

Gil Ronen MK: Use Hamas Captives as Shield

MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) suggested Sunday that Israel use prisoners from Hamas and Islamic Jihad that it is holding as human shields to deter rocket fire on Israel. Erdan said that he has suggested that an internment facility for Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners be created in the Gaza belt area. The facility, he said, should be of a temporary nature and it should be unfortified.

"There is no reason why the terrorists who are imprisoned in Israel should be safe," he said.

Same crazy process

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to release Arab terror prisoners as a gesture for Eid el-Adha, the Muslims' Feast of the Sacrifice, is "a continuation of that same crazy process of surrendering to terror," Erdan added.

He said that in view of the Olmert government's temporary status as elections near, it is not proper that Olmert make decisions on a controversial matter like the proposed prisoner release.

Still, Erdan said, the government could take a decision to launch a military operation in Gaza because there is a broad consensus in support of such an action. The Likud, he said, would support such a move. Erdan accused Kadima leader Tzipi Livni of weakness and of "wanting the whole world to like her at all times." He said Livni could not decide to launch a military offensive because she is afraid of international pressure that will end the negotiations with the PA – a project she has a stake in.

Primaries in the Likud are scheduled for this month and Erdan is among those vying for the top spots on the Likud list.