Israeli President Shimon Peres On Pardons: "I Neither Forgive Nor Forget"--But He DID Forget!

Avi Mayer tweeted yesterday about a report in Israel on Channel 2:

Peres will write "I neither forgive nor forget" on the file of each Palestinian prisoner pardoned in Shalit deal.

I don't know whether to be angered at such a statement or to respect the apparent sentiment behind it--but I do know that this is not the first time Peres has said this, holding his nose while signing pardons for murderers of innocent Israeli citizens.

Peres did the same thing when he signed the pardon for child murderer Samri Kuntar when Israel exchanged him, with others for the dead bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev:

PM Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, told BBC earlier today that while the GOI felt a "profound sense of obligation to bring the soldiers back," it was nevertheless "a difficult day for Israel." "It's not a day for celebration, (as) we have been forced to release a particularly despicable person," he said. In a statement released after his official pardon of Kuntar and the four Hizballah fighters yesterday, President Peres declared that "this decision in no way constitutes forgiveness to the murderer for his abominable and reprehensible crimes. I neither forgive nor forget."

"I neither forgive nor forget" may have been a noble sentiment the first time, Mr. Peres--But for the sake of Israel, please do not get into the habit of using it!

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gilad Shalit and Samir Kuntar and Shimon Peres.