NEW YORK- In the wake of the revelation that one of the Beersheba suicide bombers was released from a Palestinian Authority prison before the attack, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has expressed its surprise and disappointment that the U.S. has not criticized the PA’s continuing policy of releasing terrorists.

According to the Jerusalem Post (Sept.2), one the two bombers, Ahmed Kawasmeh, 22, was detained by the PA earlier this year because of his involvement in planning terrorist attacks, but then was set free after “several weeks.”

The ZOA recalls that after one of the PA’s token roundups of terrorists in 1994, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said the action was “just public relations,” not a genuine crackdown on terrorists. In 1997, then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that the PA had a system of “revolving-door justice” for terrorists.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “By remaining silent in the face of the PA’s constant releases of terrorists, and continuing to send the Palestinian Arabs $215-million annually despite these pro-terror actions, the U.S. is sending a message to the Palestinian Arabs that there will be no consequences for its actions. Such a message only encourages the PA to continue releasing, befriending, and assisting terrorists.”

For a copy of the ZOA’s report, Letting Killers Go Free: The Palestinian Authority’s Releases of Imprisoned Terrorists, please call 212-481-1500.