Prisoner exchange with Hizballah spurs more terrorist abduction plots

Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin reported to the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Sunday, July 27, an increase of organized plans by terrorist groups to kidnap more Israeli soldiers. They are motivated by the Lebanese Hizballah’s success in gaining the release of five imprisoned members in exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers two weeks ago.
Reviewing the security situation in Jerusalem, Diskin sounded an alarm: Local Palestinians are increasingly ready to embrace religious radicalism and global jihadist ideas, including the practice of terrorism.
Law enforcement and deterrent measures must be applied urgently in the capital, where in a district like Shoafat, authority cannot be applied without the backing of large-scale armed forces. The situation there is even more dangerous than that prevailing in the West Bank town of Jenin. Hamas is also gaining a foothold in the Jerusalem villages of Abu Dis and Azariya.
The Shin Bet director therefore urged the ministers to hurry up and apply penalties for the two terrorist attacks by bulldozers on Jerusalem’s main streets this month and the massacre at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March.
Their homes should be razed and government social benefits withheld from their dependents. Such deterrents against further terrorist attacks have proved effective in the past.