Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., January 03, 2008 Tevet 25, 5768 | | Israel Time: 06:52 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File Magazine
From left to right: IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, abducted July 12, 2006, and IAF navigator Ron Arad, missing since October 16, 1986. (Archives / Channel 2)
Last update - 16:50 17/10/2007
Wife of abducted soldier: Israel did not receive info on soldiers
By Yoav Stern and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah 

Karnit Goldwasser, wife of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Ehud Goldwasser, on Wednesday denied reports that Israel had received information from Hezbollah regarding the soldiers kidnapped by the group last year.

"The State of Israel did not receive any information regarding Eldad [Regev] and Udi [Goldwasser]. I started seeing Lebanese families demanding from Nasrallah to get things moving, and I hope they will continue," said Goldwasser in an interview to Army Radio.

The report, published in the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan Wednesday morning, said that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed on a mechanism for a prisoner exchange involving abducted IDF troops Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. According to the report, sources close to the negotiations said Israel would free nine Lebanese held in Israeli jails, along with an undetermined number of Palestinian and Arab prisoners.
Advertisement
The newspaper, which was the first to report significant progress in the talks ahead of Monday's limited exchange between the sides, said Hezbollah had agreed to an Israeli request for information on the fate of Goldwasser and Regev, along with captured Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad.

In the Monday night exchange, Israel released a Hezbollah man and the bodies of two others in exchange for the body of an Israeli civilian and some information on Arad.

The swap has convinced Jerusalem officials that, in exchange for the release of Goldwasser and Regev, Israel will have to release Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese terrorist held for the murder of a family in Nahariya.

Israel has in the past conditioned Kuntar's release on reliable information regarding the fate of Arad, whose plane went down over Lebanon 21 years ago, on 0ctober 16, 1986.

Haaretz has learned that the information provided Monday by Hezbollah did not shed light on Arad's fate, but rather detailed Hezbollah's efforts since January 2004 to gain information on Arad and confirm his whereabouts, including checking with sources in Iran.

At some point in the future, the Israeli government will have to decide whether to continue to insist on linking Kuntar's release with information on Arad's fate, or carry out a deal that includes him and the two IDF soldiers.

The latter option would mean that Israel is relinquishing any chance that Hezbollah will contribute to uncovering the mystery surrounding Arad's disappearance.

In the material that Hezbollah passed on to Israel on Arad, the Shiite group sent a message stating that it was unable to provide further information.

During a 2004 deal, which brought about the release of businessman Elhanan Tennenbaum, Israel promised to release Kuntar if Hezbollah offered significant information on Arad's whereabouts. The information Hezbollah provided was limited and did not solve the mystery of Arad's disappearence.

However, some sources in Israel say the group made sincere efforts to gain information on the missing airman.

The main difficulty in closing a deal, apart from the Arad issue, concerns the Hezbollah demand for a major release of prisoners before offering any information on the two soldiers.

Contrary to some media reports, Hezbollah did not pass on to Israel a letter Arad had written during his early years in captivity, sources said.

Despite Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's statements on the group's television station Al-Manar Tuesday night, on progress in the negotiations, senior security sources in Israel believe that the talks can last several more months.

No sign of life
Hezbollah continues to refuse Israel's request to offer a sign of life from the two kidnapped soldiers.

Nasrallah said Tuesday that there are "intensive and continuous" talks on the matter of Goldwasser and Regev, and that there has been significant progress recently.

The Hezbollah leader's optimistic tone is being interpreted in Israel as an effort to convince the families of the Lebanese prisoners held in Israel that he is working hard to achieve a deal for their release.

It would also rally the Goldwasser and Regev families to pressure the Israeli government to make it willing to pay a higher price for their release.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused Hezbollah Tuesday of "cynical trading which plays on the feelings and emotions of Israeli society" over this issue.

"For years, our enemies have been trying to raise the price that Israel pays in return for bits of information," Olmert added during an address in Ashdod.

Officials in Israel tried to play down expectations Tuesday that there are chances that a deal on Goldwasser and Regev could be reached in the near future.

Related articles:

  • ANALYSIS: Nothing more on Arad; now, on to other captives
  • Nasrallah: Talks on major swap deal 'progressing'
  • Israel frees one of 5 Hezbollah guerillas, two bodies of militants
  • Nasrallah: Hezbollah assumes missing IAF airman Ron Arad is dead
  • New film leaves parents in the dark on sons' fate during kidnap
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Muslims study Holocaust
    For Dutch educators, Islamophobia can be a teaching aid for Holocaust studies.
    White House race
    Edwards is the angry candidate; Obama prefers conciliation.
      1.   Kuntar - never release him! 09:06  |  Mike 17/10/07
      2.   Values 09:30  |  dovale 17/10/07
      3.   Olmert wants to deflect atention from planned surrender to pals 09:31  |  Absolute Sweden 17/10/07
      4.   Sloppy, rushed journalism 09:40  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
      5.   Against Israel negotiates with terrorists....... PATHETIC! 09:45  |  amir 17/10/07
      6.   Olmert should have done this originally, saved embarrassment 09:53  |  Natallie Durson 17/10/07
      7.   THE WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM 10:04  |  RONDI 17/10/07
      8.   Stupi Deal=This Gove`t Must Fall 10:14  |  dyinglikeflies 17/10/07
      9.   Olmert to agree to the most shameful deal 10:31  |  Jonathan S 17/10/07
      10.   No Deal with Kuntar 10:38  |  Nephtaly 17/10/07
      11.   Profess blunder 10:55  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
      12.   #6 Natallie Dur D`Oreille and her expectations 11:04  |  Hastaroth 17/10/07
      13.   THE BEST RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH 11:08  |  M 17/10/07
      14.   Lessons from the past 11:10  |  Hastaroth 17/10/07
      15.   Arad 99.9% InSyria 11:10  |  Maher 17/10/07
      16.   string up Kuntar 11:34  |  peter 17/10/07
      17.   Making a deal with the slime of humanity 11:44  |  GrossedOut 17/10/07
      18.   Ruthless huligans 11:56  |  Kaya 17/10/07
      19.   Afgh Taliban killed2 Koreans and then got $10M for hostages 12:01  |  Alan 17/10/07
      20.   #9 Jonathan S 12:04  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/10/07
      21.   Can I suggest 12:09  |  Peter XM 17/10/07
      22.   ClickFool - Samir Kuntar some background 12:32  |  ERSB 17/10/07
      23.   Bring Regev and Goldwasser Home 12:48  |  Jane 17/10/07
      24.   Why is Israel so stupid? 12:58  |  Hilda 17/10/07
      25.   To 20, Chris- What About The Relatives of Next Hostages? 13:02  |  dyinglikeflies 17/10/07
      26.   #16 Peter Rabid 13:20  |  Boycott 17/10/07
      27.   @13, totally agre, it was wrong to stop bombing in 06 13:25  |  vladimir 17/10/07
      28.   ISRAEL 2007= SUCKERS 13:30  |  SAD SHAME 17/10/07
      29.   Prisoner Exchange 13:45  |  Rebecca Levi 17/10/07
      30.   Alive or or no deal 14:05  |  NEIL GOLAN 17/10/07
      31.   Relaese kuntar 14:23  |  jor 17/10/07
      32.   Israel`s captive soldiers. 14:33  |  sandra chitayat 17/10/07
      33.   #25 Dyinglikeflies 14:47  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/10/07
      34.   Clickfool on Kuntar 14:51  |  Stan 17/10/07
      35.   Hilda #24 14:54  |  Imad 17/10/07
      36.   Jor`s repulsive moral equivelance 14:57  |  ERSB 17/10/07
      37.   IDF troops never abandoned in the field 15:01  |  Tzfonit 17/10/07
      38.   By All Means Free Samir Kuntar 15:10  |  Bill Foonman 17/10/07
      39.   Release Kuntar then kill him later 15:13  |  Peter 17/10/07
      40.   I agree with Hilda 15:30  |  Abu Halil bin yusuf 17/10/07
      41.   #21 15:33  |  avrumiye 17/10/07
      42.   Clickfool - must agree there (#4) 15:40  |  Polybios 17/10/07
      43.   Kuntar really should not be released, ever 15:45  |  Polybios 17/10/07
      44.   Prisoner exchange 15:51  |  Abu Halil bin yusuf 17/10/07
      45.   Nasrallah murdered the last 4 Israeli soldiers captured 15:54  |  PETER SM 17/10/07
      46.   KUNTAR is alive.What would the Arabs have done to him 16:05  |  PETER SM 17/10/07
      47.   Difficult to negotiate with terrorists 16:06  |  Larry 17/10/07
      48.   whoopass 16:19  |  just deserts 17/10/07
      49.   Deal with murderers will provoke next abduction 16:19  |  Jonathan S 17/10/07
      50.   #`s 4 and 42 16:20  |  gail 17/10/07
      51.   btches 16:29  |  just deserts 17/10/07
      52.   What are Likud, Israel Beteinu, and Shas waiting for? 16:30  |  Michael 17/10/07
      53.   Hilda 16:35  |  Walid 17/10/07
      54.   Do me a favour: if you release that dog Kuntar.. 16:36  |  Richard S 17/10/07
      55.   #37 Tzfonit 16:43  |  Boycott 17/10/07
      56.   WHOOPASS.How many cms of Israel did the army of Allah liberate? 17:06  |  PETER SM 17/10/07
      57.   Walid 17:55  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 17/10/07
      58.   #56 Peter SM 18:01  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/10/07
      59.   #26-Boycott gets queasy 18:38  |  peter 17/10/07
      60.   #20 Linthwaite 18:51  |  * BEN JABO 17/10/07
      61.   Boycott#55 Did YOU ever wonder... 21:02  |  Tzfonit 17/10/07
      62.   C.LINTHWAITE.Ask how hard is it to find a needle in a haystack? 21:20  |  PETERSM 17/10/07
      63.   #59 Peter the swinging peacenik 21:26  |  Boycott 17/10/07
      64.   For Natallie #6 23:17  |  Esther 17/10/07
      65.   Addendum for Natallie #6 23:20  |  Esther 17/10/07
      66.   #61 Tzfonit 23:42  |  Boycott 17/10/07
      67.   Tzfonit 00:45  |  Danite 18/10/07
      68.   Boycott 00:46  |  Danite 18/10/07
      69.   Walid 00:49  |  danite 18/10/07
      70.   How to do prisoner trades with arabs 00:51  |  Danite 18/10/07
      71.   #16, Peter in Montreal 02:41  |  Alain Brossard III 18/10/07
      72.   # 38, Bill Foolman 02:43  |  Tim 18/10/07
      73.   #39, Release Kuntar 02:45  |  Halina 18/10/07
      74.   57margie of TA to Walid,his sources are accurate,come straight 03:16  |  lakshmi 18/10/07
      75.   BOYCOTT Rocketting Israeli cities is serious. 03:40  |  PETER SM 18/10/07
      76.   #63 Boycott swinging slowly 07:04  |  peter 18/10/07
      77.   Boycott#66 And your main point... 07:52  |  Tzfonit 18/10/07
      78.   314 HASTAROTH 06:44  |  DANNY 03/01/08
     Today Online
    No moving Jewish lips in prayer on Temple Mount, says Dichter
    Responses: 240