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Israel and Hizballah Trade Prisoners and War Dead

(New York Times) Israel and Hizballah exchanged prisoners and war dead on Thursday, in a trade greeted in Israel by a spare ceremony for three fallen soldiers and in Lebanon by a day of national celebration. Israeli medical experts in Germany verified that all three soldiers had been killed in an explosion while they were being captured along the Lebanese border in October 2000. Prime Minister Sharon said at the ceremony: "There is relief because the three dear families, whose souls knew no rest for the past 40 months, will now be able to unite with their sorrow over a modest grave, and composure as a promise was kept, and a right and moral decision was made despite its heavy price." In exchange for Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and the remains of the three soldiers, Israel released 429 prisoners, including 400 Palestinians, 23 Lebanese, 5 other Arabs, and one German accused of spying for Hizballah in Israel. Israel also returned the remains of 59 Lebanese. A second stage of the negotiations calls for Hizballah to provide information on the fate of Capt. Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator shot down in 1986 over southern Lebanon and captured. In exchange, Israel says it will consider releasing the longest held Lebanese prisoner, Samir Qantar, sentenced to life in prison for an attack in 1979 that killed an Israeli man and his 4-year-old daughter. In an effort to obtain information about Arad, Israeli commandos kidnapped Lebanese guerrilla leaders Abdel Karim Obeid in 1989 and Mustafa Dirani in 1994. The two men were released Thursday.
2004-01-30 00:00:00
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