(Jerusalem Post) Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) explained his “no” vote on the ongoing hostage deal at the start of the 50th annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Sunday.
In a one-on-one conversation with the Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, in front of the crowd, Chikli said that before he entered that government meeting, he had not made up his mind, but that during the meeting, after hearing the assessments from various security officials, he decided to oppose it.
“The reason for my opposition was that I understood who the prisoners were that we were releasing in exchange for our hostages. This deal includes the release of 700 terrorists — terror experts with records of dozens of attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis and wounded thousands. These are the same terrorists responsible for the Second Intifada and for other severe attacks.”
