Last update - 00:00 16/10/2007
Abductees' families cautiously optimistic over Hezbollah deal
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent
The families of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israel Defense Forces soldiers whose abduction by Hezbollah last year triggered the Second Lebanon War, reacted with cautious optimism on Monday to the first deal between Israel and the militant organization since the war ended.
Members of both families told Haaretz they had been informed in advance of the deal for the release by Israel of a Hezbollah guerrilla suffering a mental illness and the bodies of two others in exchange for the body of an Israeli civilian.
Various sources said the agreement came as part of a larger negotiation process on the release of the two soldiers, but their families refused to elaborate, which could suggest that the soldier's relatives have additional information that they are reluctant to reveal.
Eyal Regev, the abducted soldier's brother, said the family hoped the transaction would help establish trust between Israel and Hezbollah, so as to expedite the deal for his brother's release. "It creates a positive atmosphere, and I hope it serves to help matters along," he said.
Regev added that bringing his brother back was "a moral duty for the state and for the prime minister." He also said, "We are still in the dark about their condition."
Ehud's father, Shlomo, said he favored lowering expectations. "We were told that this was just a deal to establish trust and nothing more. They said this deal is not connected to the return of our sons."
Like Eyal Regev, Shlomo Goldwasser also spoke of the uncertainty his family was in with regard to the condition of his son. Ehud's mother, Miki, said she drew encouragement from the fact that three Lebanese families have now received word on their sons. "This proves it is possible to make headway in negotiations," she said. "I hope the Lebanese families will pressure their government and Hezbollah to promote the larger deal."
Noam Shalit, father of Gilad, who was abducted by Hamas near the Gaza Strip some three weeks before Goldwasser and Regev were kidnapped, said he does not regard the deal announced on Monday as meaningful for his son's release, but that he hoped "this move will set the scene for future steps that will follow, and eventually lead to Ehud and Eldad's release."
A senior government source said late last month that Egypt continues to negotiate with Hamas for Shalit's release, but the intensity of these talks has decreased. "When the Egyptians were in Gaza [before the Hamas takeover of the Strip in June], contacts were on a daily basis, and today they are a bit less," the source said.
Related articles: