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Abducted IDF soldiers Eldad Regev (right) and Ehud Goldwasser. (Archive)
Last update - 15:11 24/03/2008
Barak: We must take Hezbollah's latest threats seriously
By Yossi Melman and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: palestinians, israel 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that recent threats by Hezbollah must be taken seriously, referring to intelligence warnings of attacks by the Lebanese guerilla group to avenge its slain deputy leader Imad Mughniyah.

Barak's comments came as Hezbollah was scheduled to hold a formal service to commemorate 40 days since Mughniyah's death to be attended by the organization's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was expected to make a speech at the service.

Hezbollah has announced since then that it regarded Israel responsible for Mughniyah's death, although Jerusalem has denied any connection to the Damascus assassination.
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Barak added that the security establishment and the intelligence establishment are prepared and ready. "We are really in a more sensitive period and there are certain dangers, but we will get through them," he said.

Speaking at a site near Kiryat Gat, The defense minister also referred to the Yemini-sponsored reconciliation efforts between Fatah and Hamas.

"I don't think that anything happened in Yemen that demands a response from us. Our position toward Hamas is well known, we are not speaking with them and have no intention to speak with them - except through indirect contacts in connection to the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit," Barak stated, speaking of the Israel Defense Forces abducted by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006.

Barak also said Israel will begin making life easier for West Bank Palestinians but will not remove checkpoints in the immediate future. He said Israel is working on making crossing through checkpoints easier.

The defense minister pointed to new industrial zones he said Israel was facilitating, aimed at creating thousands of jobs for Palestinians.

Israel shifts stance on Hezbollah deal over abductees

Meanwhile, a source in the defense establishment recently told Haaretz. that Israel has lifted its opposition to a deal with Hezbollah involving the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for signs of life from abducted soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser,

This source and other officials told Haaretz that indirect negotiations for the release of the two Israel Defense Forces soldiers that the Shi'ite organization abducted in July 2006 did not bog down after the assassination of Mughniyah last month in Damascus.

On Friday, Hezbollah deputy secretary general Naim Qassem again accused Israel of culpability for Mughniyah's assassination in a speech to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. "We have clear proof, 100 percent, that cannot be doubted, that Israel is the head of the assassination," said Qassem.

The talks regarding Regev and Goldwasser, these sources said, are conducted by a German secret service official under United Nations auspices, but are yielding little progress.

Negotiations with Hamas for the release of Gilad Shalit, another IDF soldier captured in 2006, are not progressing, the sources added, citing internal differences within Hamas.

So far, Israel has said that it was categorically opposed to Hezbollah's demand to include Palestinian prisoners in any deal.

Official assessments allege that the two soldiers were "severely wounded" during the attack that ended with their abduction and the slaying of three other IDF troops. The official working assumption, however, is that the two soldiers are alive.

Hezbollah is refusing to release any sign of life from the two soldiers, preconditioning such a move on the release of Palestinian prisoners. Both sides are reportedly exchanging ideas for the deal, but the transaction is allegedly stuck because of intransigence on the part of Hezbollah's men vis-a-vis the demand to release Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

Turning to the negotiations for Shalit's release, the sources said the talks are being held up by exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. They said Israel has for the past 30 days been expecting to receive a list of prisoners whose release the organization said it is seeking.

Until earlier this month, the proposed agreement with Hamas for Shalit's
release was supposed to contain three main phases. During the first, Shalit was to be transferred to Egyptian custody, after which Israel was supposed to release 100 so-called "prominent prisoners," a group of Palestinian legislators from Hamas, as well as minors and women imprisoned in Israel.

In the second phase, Shalit was to be handed over to Israel and, at the same time, 350 Hamas prisoners were to be freed from prison. During the third part, which had no exact timeframe, Israel was to release 500 additional prisoners.

But the exact makeup of the list of prisoners whose release Hamas is demanding is, in the opinion of Israeli experts, the subject of an internal conflict within the organization.

The two sides in the conflict are reportedly Meshal and the exiled leadership in Syria on one hand, and the internal leadership within the Strip, headed by Ahmed Jabri from the organization's military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam. Talks with Hamas over the exchange are also conducted indirectly, through the mediation of Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman. Representing the Israeli side is Ofer Dekel.

The sources allege that the Egyptian agenda also serves to slow the talks down. Egypt, they explain, favors focusing on reaching a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, and only then addressing the deal for Shalit's release.

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      1.   This is so stupid 03:20  |  Jack 24/03/08
      2.   Maybe it`s just me.are you guys Nuts! 03:20  |  Doc Holliday 24/03/08
      3.   This really must have pissed off 03:51  |  Mark Lincoln 24/03/08
      4.   Signs of life? 03:54  |  MR 24/03/08
      5.   Dead Soldiers - we have 4000 04:08  |  Fred McCann 24/03/08
      6.   Agreement with Hizbollah 04:14  |  Ricardo Levy 24/03/08
      7.   Nuts?Delirium Tremens-at Richter Scale 04:16  |  GPWS1 24/03/08
      8.   Prisoners or hostages 04:25  |  Jared 24/03/08
      9.   why ...does deba say that say and hezballah,Syria and others 04:37  |  r 24/03/08
      10.   End breached cease fire; resume bombing of lebanon 04:57  |  bernard ross 24/03/08
      11.   Israel has little interest in redeeming captured IDF men 05:58  |  Natallie Durson 24/03/08
      12.   Jared, with your `facts` who needs lies? 06:37  |  Dan 24/03/08
      13.   Security demands to be always on alert. 08:12  |  Jean Van Daem 24/03/08
      14.   Signs of Life LOL! 10:38  |  Rozz 24/03/08
      15.   Israel`s attempt to drive the news agenda 11:08  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/03/08
      16.   A NASTY RIVALRY WITHIN OLMERT ADMINISTRARION 11:11  |  indrajaya 01/04/08
      17.   # 10 in Jamaica 11:50  |  Adel 24/03/08
      18.   The building of Greater Israel transcends everything else 11:53  |  Clickfool 24/03/08
      19.   #8; Jared, militants or terrorists? terrorists or murderers? 12:20  |  Doc Holliday 24/03/08
      20.   Hizbollah is NOT a terrorist organization 12:31  |  Omar 24/03/08
      21.   IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DEAD 12:57  |  DAVID 24/03/08
      22.   Release the women & children and political prisoners,you rotters! 13:08  |  lakshmi 24/03/08
      23.   The Hizbullah. 13:09  |  Jean Van Daem 24/03/08
      24.   #18; Omar, perhaps you forgot Israel left Lebanon over 5 years ag 13:18  |  Doc Holliday 24/03/08
      25.   #11 - of course Israel has little interest in negotiations 13:19  |  redmike 24/03/08
      26.   #18 Clickfool and the building 13:21  |  Urani Diot 24/03/08
      27.   #20 - the article doesn`t say that Hezbulla is a terrorist 13:28  |  redmike 24/03/08
      28.   #11, #18 How do you count a deal? 13:32  |  You must be joking 24/03/08
      29.   Chris Linthwaite 14:33  |  rich 24/03/08
      30.   to Doc Holliday 14:33  |  Omar 24/03/08
      31.   Chris Linthwaite 14:38  |  UR Aprick 24/03/08
      32.   threat everywhere 15:01  |  Tina 24/03/08
      33.   Hezbollah`s Rocket Menace 15:25  |  Brod 24/03/08
      34.   Omar # 20 Israel, The U.S., & Argentina Disagree With You 16:11  |  Jeff Northridge 24/03/08
      35.   #22 lakshmi 16:13  |  Marco 24/03/08
      36.   To Brod 17:19  |  Markus 24/03/08
      37.   Regev & Goldwasser are long since dead 19:43  |  Adrian de Klerk 24/03/08
      38.   Markus # 36 "Unjustified Creation"? 20:00  |  Jeff Northridge 24/03/08
      39.   CFOOL.Israel is not on 1 cm of recognised Lebanese territorry 20:04  |  PETER SM 24/03/08
      40.   Blame Hezbellah on Ronald Reagan 20:09  |  Ibrahim 24/03/08
      41.   Jeff Northridge are you sure? 20:11  |  Ibrahim 24/03/08
      42.   Mete out the same punishment 20:14  |  arun 24/03/08
      43.   Natalie Durson, I agree Jews don`t want their soldiers back... 20:15  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/03/08
      44.   To DeKlerk: Right on the Mark 20:23  |  Dave Levy 24/03/08
      45.   SULLIVAN Theceasefire called for unconditional return of Soldiers 21:05  |  PETER SM 24/03/08
      46.   #20 Omar, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization 21:14  |  JP 24/03/08
      47.   #41 Ibrahim - Read the papers once in a while, will ya? 21:16  |  JP 24/03/08
      48.   #40 Ibrahim - Any Arab terrorists you can`t blame on a white guy? 21:20  |  JP 24/03/08
      49.   exchange of living Arabs against "only signs of life" 21:39  |  vogel 24/03/08
      50.   18.clickfool. what u h. said can be buttressed 21:41  |  bozhidar bob balkas 24/03/08
      51.   pt. 5 Israel must protect herself 21:51  |  roger wallace 24/03/08
      52.   Markus #36 21:52  |  Brod 24/03/08
      53.   To Omar #20 22:07  |  mikeber 24/03/08
      54.   Haaretz` a special request 22:56  |  Dutch 24/03/08
      55.   JP on reading the newspapers. 23:35  |  Ibrahim 24/03/08
      56.   hostages 23:36  |  jorge grosz 24/03/08
      57.   Well if it aint the squatter from Daan unde peter sm 00:33  |  Labhras 25/03/08
      58.   #30 Omar , I know your facts are wrong, here is why 03:20  |  Doc Holliday 25/03/08
      59.   Yaacov Wallyvan 43 03:31  |  Free Gilad Shalit 25/03/08
      60.   Who is the Abominable Slowman? 04:29  |  Yossi Melman 25/03/08
      61.   FRED MCCANN #5 04:39  |  Miriam Ashkelon 25/03/08
      62.   DUTCH A SOECIAL REQUEST LEAVE OUR BELOVED SODIERS ALONE NC 04:43  |  Miriam Ashkelon 25/03/08
      63.   Mark, Have you read Ofri Ilani`s interview with Shlomo Sand 04:49  |  Reader 25/03/08
      64.   #45 Peter SM on the unconditional return of soldiers 13:39  |  maoriboy 25/03/08
      65.   DUTCH objects to photos of Israelis in Israeli media.Demented ? 09:05  |  PETER SM 25/03/08
      66.   #45 No, PETER SM, it does not 12:50  |  Johnboy 25/03/08
      67.   Signs of Life From Prisoners 02:16  |  ROBOCOP 26/03/08
      68.   Taken seriously 21:38  |  Paul 28/03/08