Copyright 2001 Jerusalem Post
Jerusalem Post
July 8, 2001
HEADLINE: Security officials doubt authenticity of kidnapping photos
BYLINE: Arieh O'Sullivan and David Rudge
TEL AVIV (July 8) - Senior security officials have cast doubt over the
authenticity of photographs purporting to show scenes from the October 7
Mount Dov kidnappings and two of the hostages in hospital beds.
The pictures from the hospital were screened on Channel 2 on Friday and
last night, but the security officials and the hostages' families said
they were too unclear to see faces.
The photos, showing two men in a hospital bed, had already been obtained
by the defense establishment and had been relayed to the soldiers'
families. According to defense officials, the photos did not provide an
equivocal answer or any new information.
"It was impossible to determine the authenticity of the photograph and
whether those in it were the kidnapped soldiers or not," said the defense
official. "But we will continue to try to get hold of every piece of
information."
Senior defense officials, however, could not rule out that this was an
attempt by Hizbullah to wage psychological warfare.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer pressed his demand that
the UN hand over the videotape intact since the defense establishment
believes information may be gleaned from it.
"The Defense Minister demands all of the information and the full and
uncensored or edited videotape," said his spokesman, Yarden Vatikay.
The weekend saw a flurry of reports from Lebanon and in Israel showing
photos allegedly taken from the video taped by an Indian officer in
UNIFIL, as well as still photographs from Lebanon of possible Hizbullah
guerrillas involved in the kidnappings.
But defense officials said that most of these had already been seen
shortly after the October 7 kidnapping, some of which were broadcast on
Al-Jazeera TV.
The defense establishment last night continued to voice contempt for the
way the United Nations was handling the matter of the videotape.
The statements by the UN placing conditions on the transferral of the
videotape angered many in the Defense Ministry.
"We have many doubts about the behavior of the United Nations in this
whole affair," said one defense official. "We are not sure of their
integrity in this matter."
The official dismissed criticism by UN officials that the aggressive and
public Israeli demand had backfired by limiting UN flexibility and forcing
it to be intransigent.
"It had been dealt with quietly until now. They had always denied they had
the tape. They lied to us. It was only after we presented them with
evidence of the proof that they suddenly admitted they had it. So all this
talk about getting quietly is irrelevant," the defense official said.