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Abducted IDF soldiers Eldad Regev (right) and Ehud Goldwasser. (Archive)
Last update - 13:03 19/05/2008
Israel to Hezbollah: Forget Palestinian prisoners in swap for IDF soldiers
By Yossi Melman
Tags: Udi Goldwasser, Hezbollah 

Israel will not release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah, it recently informed the Lebanese organization. And if Hezbollah continues to insist that Palestinians be included in the deal, Israel may break off the negotiations, a senior official familiar with the talks told Haaretz.

In that case, the official said, Israel would have to evaluate whatever intelligence it has about the two soldiers and decide whether it justifies declaring them dead.

Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006. Their abduction ignited the Second Lebanon War. Since the war, Israel and Hezbollah have been conducting indirect negotiations on a prisoner swap via a German mediator, Gerhard Konrad. Ofer Dekel, who Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appointed to conduct the talks for Israel, frequently meets with Konrad in Europe.
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Israel recently asked Konrad to give Hezbollah what it termed its "final offer": In exchange for the two soldiers, or their bodies if they are dead, Israel will release Lebanese prisoners. Israel would also return the bodies of Hezbollah members buried in Israel, but would not release any Palestinians.

"From Israel's perspective, we have reached the outermost limits of the negotiations," the senior official said. "The ball is now in Hezbollah's court, and it must make a decision."

Throughout the talks, Hezbollah has insisted that Israel release thousands of Palestinians in addition to the Lebanese prisoners. But this would strengthen the radical Shi'ite organization's standing among Palestinians and the Arab world as a whole, which Israel does not want to do, the official explained.

If Hezbollah insists on including Palestinian prisoners, the official added, that will bring about "an end to the negotiations because there will no longer be anything to talk about." In that case, Israel would have to consider classifying Regev and Goldwasser not as MIAs but as fallen soldiers whose place of burial is unknown.

The Israel Defense Forces' chief rabbi is responsible for making this decision, but it must be based on solid intelligence and medical information indicating that the two are dead - which the IDF does not yet believe it has.

Until a few months ago, Dekel had been hinting to Hezbollah that Israel might include Palestinians in the deal if it received a sign of life from the kidnapped soldiers. The assumption at that time had been that the deal would be conducted in two stages: first a sign of life, then the actual return of the soldiers.

In the almost two years since the kidnapping, however, Hezbollah has consistently refused to provide any sign of life, and Israel is now convinced that it has no intention of ever doing so.

"But from our experience in the talks and in past deals with Hezbollah," the senior official cautioned, "our assessment is that only on the day of the deal will we know for sure whether they are alive or not."

In addition to Kuntar - who is not a Hezbollah member, and whose terror attack was carried out on behalf of a Palestinian group, the Palestine Liberation Front - Israel currently holds four Hezbollah militants who were captured during the Second Lebanon War. In addition, the bodies of about 10 Hezbollah militants who were killed in clashes with the IDF are buried here.

But Kuntar is by far the most prominent Lebanese prisoner in Israel. For the past decade, Hezbollah has demanded that Kuntar be part of every prisoner swap it conducted with Israel, but Israel has consistently refused, saying that Kuntar would be released only in exchange for information on air force navigator Ron Arad, who has been missing since his plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986.

Until now, Israel's position has prevailed. Thus Kuntar was not released in the last swap with Hezbollah, in 2003, when Israel freed some 400 other Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in exchange for kidnapped businessman Elhanan Tennenbaum and the bodies of three kidnapped soldiers, Benny Avraham, Omar Suweid and Adi Avitan. Instead, it was agreed that Kuntar would be released as part of a follow-up deal in exchange for information on Arad.

Israel has now apparently dropped its objection to releasing Kuntar. But the senior official insisted that even if it is compelled to trade Kuntar for Regev and Goldwasser, Israel will still demand that Hezbollah keep its promise to supply information on Arad's fate.

Independent of any prisoner swap, Israel soon plans to release Nissim Nasser and deport him to Lebanon, Haaretz has learned. Nasser is a Jew who converted to Islam but then managed to immigrate from Lebanon to Israel. Nasser was convicted of spying for Hezbollah and sentenced to six years prison, but recently completed his sentence.

The defense establishment had considered continuing to hold him as an administrative detainee and use him as another bargaining chip in the negotiations for the abducted soldiers, but after consultations with the Justice Ministry it concluded that it could not legally do so. And in any case, he was of no real value in the negotiations, defense officials said.

Israel's message to Hezbollah:

  • No release of Palestinians in return for Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
  • Hezbollah's insistence on Palestinians being freed will end the negotiations.
  • Israeli assessment: Hezbollah is not interested in providing a sign of life from the soldiers.
  • Israel will consider declaring Regev and Goldwasser as casualties whose burial place is unknown.
  • Israel is willing to free its Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Kuntar.
  • Israel will demand information about Ron Arad in return for Kuntar's release.


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      1.   Killers for Soldiers 03:18  |  Rambo 19/05/08
      2.   comedy hour? 03:42  |  Space 19/05/08
      3.   Hezbollah militants that Israel holds 04:04  |  ZS 19/05/08
      4.   ZS 04:19  |  RAMBO 19/05/08
      5.   No surprises 04:52  |  jjvanka 19/05/08
      6.   #3 (ZS) 06:11  |  B 19/05/08
      7.   Pals for soldiers? 06:31  |  geoff 19/05/08
      8.   There is nothing to negotiate 06:33  |  Ian Robertson 19/05/08
      9.   Pathetic and Weak 06:58  |  Denise 19/05/08
      10.   FREE SAMIR KUNTAR 07:00  |  ARAB DRUZE MUSLIM 19/05/08
      11.   Israeli=400 terrorists That`s not me, that`s Na-zi-ralla`s price 07:04  |  Dan 19/05/08
      12.   dead for dead, if ours are dead we will give them their list dead 07:06  |  ralph 19/05/08
      13.   `ruling soldiers dead` 07:19  |  Colin Wright 19/05/08
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      15.   Findings of the last war in Lebanon. 08:14  |  Jean Van Daem 19/05/08
      16.   Excellent message to Hezbollah 08:48  |  MJ 19/05/08
      17.   once again... 08:52  |  samos 19/05/08
      18.   message to Hezbollah is correct on all points 08:54  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/05/08
      19.   Release of Lebanese Terrorists? 08:55  |  Khaled 19/05/08
      20.   Then let the IDF POW`s rot in prison if Israel doesn`t want them 08:56  |  Abandoning Soldiers 19/05/08
      21.   NO DEAL THEN, FORGET THAT ISRAELIS 09:09  |  indrajaya 19/05/08
      22.   Ian # 8 09:15  |  DC 19/05/08
      23.   Their families are being tortured 09:19  |  Dror 19/05/08
      24.   The Ron Arad Club 09:21  |  Clickfool 19/05/08
      25.   Do not negotiate with Hezbollah! 09:30  |  Concerned Lebanese 19/05/08
      26.   Do never release kuntar. He needs to be executed. 09:41  |  Johnny 19/05/08
      27.   Are Israelis so exremists like people here? 09:53  |  KA 19/05/08
      28.   #25, concerned Lebanese 09:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/05/08
      29.   #24, fool, it is not your concern 09:57  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/05/08
      30.   For Cipora # 29 10:16  |  Clickfool 19/05/08
      31.   The Right Decision 10:24  |  JIm 19/05/08
      32.   #30, keep guessing 10:39  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/05/08
      33.   For Jim # 31 11:35  |  Clickfool 19/05/08
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      35.   Solution to the Palestinian Israeli conflict 13:03  |  Matthew 19/05/08
      36.   Trying to look strong for the Americans 13:25  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/05/08
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      38.   Arab Druze Muslim 13:31  |  x-ray 19/05/08
      39.   Aus-Leb 13:32  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 19/05/08
      40.   #30 Clickfool 13:35  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/05/08
      41.   #35 you are wrong 13:36  |  Ramzi 19/05/08
      42.   Palestinian Prisoners? 13:38  |  Bernie 19/05/08
      43.   Israel must not grovel like UK did for their naval people. 13:39  |  The Equalizer 19/05/08
      44.   HOW IRONIC !!! 13:49  |  Ali 19/05/08
      45.   To Obersturmbannführer Linthwaite...always taking the terrorists` 13:50  |  spade 19/05/08
      46.   To #10 "Arab Druze Muslim"...nice try, but Druze are 13:53  |  spade 19/05/08
      47.   # 35 & 41 14:12  |  Michael 19/05/08
      48.   Ben Jabo Ben Tize can release the IDF prisoners 14:45  |  Aounist 19/05/08
      49.   What will it be this time? 14:59  |  Walter 19/05/08
      50.   #45 Spade 15:00  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/05/08
      51.   Margie #39 15:07  |  Aus-Leb 19/05/08
      52.   Michael 47 15:08  |  ChanahS 19/05/08
      53.   Aounist - It`s a fact 15:12  |  * BEN JABO 19/05/08
      54.   Indrajaya, the pot calling the kettle black 15:22  |  Sam C 19/05/08
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      61.   Clickfool # 30. 15:45  |  David Nigel Braham 19/05/08
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