Though many feared that the bulk of the 400 prisoners Israel released in the prisoner exchange with the Hezbollah terror group would return to their murderous ways, few expected televised declarations of such intentions. Steven Smyrek, a 32-year-old German terrorist who converted to Islam gave an alarming interview to a German television station almost immediately following the affixation of his signature to a document promising to renounce violence and terrorism. Before he even left Israel for Germany, Smyrek gave an interview to Eric Friedler, a German documentary maker. âItâs an honor to die for Islam and for Allah,â he said. âWhen the order comes you have to carry it out and thereâs no time to ask if there is a God or not, or to think what will happen after youâre dead, without feeling you simply have to lay down your life as Allah decreed.â
Smyrek was arrested by the General Security Service in 1997 after arriving in Israel in order to carry out a suicide attack on Israeli Jews. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail. He expressed no remorse in court and declined an offer to serve his time in a German prison. He now speaks fluent Arabic after living with convicted Palestinian and Lebanese terrorists for more than six years and is as determined as ever to turn himself into a human bomb. His own family in London reacted with concern to news of his release. Karin Wood, his mother, told Britainâs Sunday Times, âIâm just terrified to think what he might do, not just to himself but to other innocent people.â Smyrek was born in Germany, moving to England when his mother married an officer in the British Army. He attended military school and even joined the German military briefly before being sent to jail for dealing drugs.
After his release from prison, Smyrek learned about Islam while working at a Turkish kebab shop and was encouraged to join a local mosque. There he met two Hezbollah agents who facilitated his planned terror attack in Israel. Fortunately, two Israeli air marshals were seated to either side of Smyrek as he flew to Israel due to intelligence information suggested he intended to hijack the airplane. He was arrested upon arrival at Ben-Gurion airport. Smyrek, now a free man, is again able to pass himself off as either British or German as he moves around the Middle East freely with his European Union passport. German authorities announced last week that Smyrek was one of three prisoners who had opted to remain in Germany rather than continue on to Lebanon. |