The prospect of releasing the perpetrators of one of Israel's most brutal terrorist attacks has reignited trauma for survivors and relatives of the Fogel family massacre. Elihai Ben Yishai, brother of murdered Ruth Fogel, expressed outrage at reports that his sister's killers might be included in a broader prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
The 2011 Fogel family massacre stands as one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in Israel's recent history. On the night of March 11, 2011, two Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the settlement of Itamar, breaking into the Fogel family home during Shabbat. The attackers murdered five members of the family in their sleep: Ehud (36) and Ruth Fogel (35), along with three of their children - Yoav (11), Elad (4), and three-month-old Hadas. The brutal nature of the killings, which included the throat-slitting of an infant, shocked the nation and drew international condemnation.
"If the phone calls I've been receiving since morning about the expected release of my sister Ruth's murderers are correct, then we can officially declare Israel as a completely insane country," Ben Yishai posted on X. "You don't fix madness with more madness."
The perpetrators, Amjad and Hakim Awad, who were teenagers at the time, were eventually caught and sentenced to five consecutive life terms plus five years each. Their potential release is now being discussed as part of broader negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the return of hostages taken during the October 7 attack.
This development comes amid complex negotiations for a new hostage deal. According to the London-based Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, while a ceasefire agreement exists in principle, its announcement has been delayed due to disagreements over implementation. The proposed deal reportedly involves the release of 33 hostages in exchange for approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The possibility of including the Fogel family killers in this exchange has sparked intense debate about the moral and strategic implications of prisoner releases. Three children from the Fogel family - Tamar, Roi, and Yishai - survived the 2011 attack only because they were out of the house at the time. The surviving siblings were raised by their grandparents and have since become symbols of resilience in Israeli society.
Political tensions have escalated around the negotiations, with Hamas and Israeli officials trading accusations about who is responsible for delays. A senior Israeli political source rejected Hamas's claim that Israel had added new conditions to the negotiations, stating that the terrorist organization was using false pretexts to avoid implementing the agreement.
As debate rages in Jerusalem's corridors of power, Elihai Ben Yishai's words echo across this chasm between justice and necessity. Yet in the heart of this tragedy, where every decision carries the weight of generations of grief, perhaps the true madness lies in the endless cycle itself – where yesterday's victims become tomorrow's bargaining chips, and where healing one family's wounds might mean reopening another's scars.
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