Lieberman: Libya's demands for Israeli prisoner's release were reasonable, logical
Israel allowed a Libyan-sponsored aid ship to enter Gaza in exchange for release of Rafael Haddad, imprisoned in Libya for 5 months.
By Jonathan Lis, Nir Hasson and Barak Ravid Tags: Israel news Libya Avigdor LiebermanRafael (Rafram) Haddad, the Israeli man released from a Libyan prison on Sunday, landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday afternoon, accompanied by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Lieberman thanked Libya, saying that it "behaved responsibly" on the matter and called Libya's demands in exchange for Haddad's release "reasonable" and "logical."
In exchange for Haddad's release, Israel allowed the cargo of a Libyan-sponsored aid ship to enter the Gaza Strip in July and for Libya to construct 20 buildings for Gaza residents.
Lieberman said that the secret negotiations for Haddad's release were "not simple."
Haddad, who holds dual Israeli and Tunisian passports, arrived in Vienna late Sunday after spending five months in a Libyan prison. He was arrested by local Libyan police in March while photographing a building that once belonged to the Jewish community in Libya.
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Rafael (Rafram) Haddad and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Vienna, Austria. |
| Photo by: Foreign Ministry |
Haddad is active in a society that seeks to preserve Libyan Jewish history.
Several countries, including the United States, France and Italy were initially involved in efforts to free Haddad. When those efforts failed, Lieberman decided to use private contacts close to the Libyan regime to advance a deal. Lieberman approached a number of central and eastern European acquaintances, including Austrian businessman Martin Schlaff, a friend of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of the Libyan leader.
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Good for Libya! Let's just hope the buildings it builds aren't the first to go during Israel's next spree in Gaza
you either got an ambargo or not on Gaza, you can not play it as iy suits you, this is enough reason for the world not to take you serous on the subject of self declared Ambargo for your convenience on Gaza..
While it's good this fellow has been returned home, it was foolish - even reckless - of him to enter Libya just to take pictures of old Jewish sites. The efforts of those to bring him back home would have been unnecessary had he exercised better judgment.
My prediction is that he would have been back home a long time ago.
maybe in Sweden, but we think differently about Jews. way to go Lieberman. now Gilad Shalit.
I am happy to see that it is still possible to have agreements in the Middle East, which help everyone.
I wonder how many missiles and explosives came in on the libyan ship? How many lives in Israel will be lost? How many lives in gaza will be surrendered in retaliatory raids for hamas missile launches? It is unlikey that we will ever know the exact cost of that swap. Never negotiate with terrorists.
when I was in Casablanca several years back, a plainclothes chap tried to knock down my camera when I photographed a synagogue. Tourists or documentarians are not spies, perhaps a bit annoying but not spies. Glad that Mr. Hadad is back home in the Jewish State.
No doubt the comforts afforded him by Libya during his incarceration were much more preferable than being a pawn used to bolster Lieberman's image.