Copyright 2001 Ha'aretz
Name Of Newspaper
October 24, 2001
HEADLINE: Hezbollah Rejects Offer for Kidnapped Four
BYLINE: Amos Harel
Hezbollah has rejected an offer from Israel for a "significant
reward" in exchange for any sign of life from four kidnapped
Israelis it has held since last October.
Three Israeli soldiers, Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Souad
were snatched from the Israeli border with Lebanon. Shortly
afterward Hezbollah also kidnapped Israeli businessman Elhanan
Tanenbaum while he was visiting Europe.
Germany is continuing to mediate between Israel and Hezbollah,
Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said yesterday while on a tour
of the northern border. "We do not have any exact information, apart
from the fact that the four are there [held by Hezbollah]," he said.
"We were prepared to offer a lot more than people think just to
visit or see them. We suggested being given a videotape, an audio
tape, [a piece of] handwriting. But it was not well received." He
promised efforts to free them would continue and said he believed
the four were still alive.
Ben-Eliezer also said Hezbollah threats to kidnap more soldiers, and
even civilians, were being taken seriously. Hezbollah poses a
strategic threat to Israel, he said.
Israel is still upset by the United Nations' behavior over the
kidnapping of the soldiers from the Har Dov area, said Ben-Eliezer.
He called Syria's temporary admission to the UN Security Council
"the height of cynicism." He said Syria "is a state harboring 20
terrorist organizations and individuals, including the leader of the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad."