Copyright 2002 Ha'aretz
Name Of Newspaper
March 25, 2002
HEADLINE: Syria Can, But Won't, Influence Hezbollah Over Kidnap Victims
BYLINE: Amos Harel
Syria has turned down requests by European states to use its
influence over Hezbollah by taking action to return to Israel the
four kidnapped Israelis in the hands of the Lebanese fundamentalist
militia. In those contacts, the Europeans emphasized that by helping
in the case, Damascus could improve its standing in Washington,
which since September 11 has been suspicious of Syria as a state
providing shelter to terrorists.
According to information in Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad
was notified in advance by Hezbollah about their plans to kidnap
Israeli soldiers and he received a detailed report on the kidnapping
of Elhanan Tannenbaum right after it took place. Furthermore, he is
kept up to date on the case by Hezbollah's leadership.
Three Israeli soldiers, Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Suwad,
were kidnapped from the Mt. Dov area on October 7, 2000, and
apparently died at the time or soon after the kidnapping. A few
months ago, the IDF declared the three dead, with their whereabouts
unknown. Col. (res.) Tannenbaum was kidnapped in October 2000 in
Europe and was taken to Lebanon, apparently through a third country.
According to foreign reports, Israel has been conducting
negotiations with Hezbollah to return the three bodies and
Tannenbaum in exchange for Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners held
by Israel. Germany and other states are mediating in these efforts,
but as far as is known, no progress has been made. Hezbollah
Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah occasionally mentions the
kidnappings in public, while Israel maintains a veil of deliberate
ambiguity on the matter.
In recent months, the defense establishment has come to the
conclusion that Syria plays "a central role" in the affair, and
could help solve it. Senior security sources claim Syria has "up to
date and reliable" information about the four Israelis and that it
has influence over Hezbollah in the affair. However, the Syrians
refrain from getting involved, even after the Europeans told
Damascus that a humanitarian gesture on the matter of the kidnapped
Israelis would score them points in Washington, an assessment Israel
shares.
Damascus is troubled by its relationship with Washington in the wake
of September 11. The U.S. has delivered various messages - sometimes
inconsistent - about its attitude to Syria since the terror attacks
on New York and Washington. Hezbollah, under Syrian patronage, was
added to the American list of terror organizations it has targeted,
and one of Hezbollah's leaders, Imad Maragnieh, was put on the list
of terrorists wanted along with al-Qaida activists. The Damascus
residencies of various terror groups has also been mentioned by
Washington - but so far, the U.S. has taken no tangible steps
against the Syrians, with Iraq at the top of their agenda for the
"next phase" of the war on terror.
Israeli defense sources say the Syrian leadership has been
intensively dealing with the question of how to improve relations
with Washington. The issue apparently came up in the recent visit to
Syria and Lebanon by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and in
the ongoing dialogue with Nasrallah. The Syrians believe the U.S.
threats against Hezbollah could damage them, Lebanon and Iran.
Against that background, the Europeans suggested Syria take an
active role reining in Hezbollah's activities against Israel on the
northern border. In the past six months, the Syrians indeed have
enforced a policy of restraint on Hezbollah but Israel believes that
overall, Syria's role remains negative in the kidnapping affair.
Assad was informed ahead of the kidnapping on Mt. Dov, which took
place despite the fact the IDF withdrew from all of southern Lebanon
and retreated to a boundary approved by the UN. Assad heard about
the Tannenbaum kidnapping after the fact, but has been kept
up-to-date by Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders.
Security services sources say that Assad tries to portray the Mt.
Dov kidnapping as legitimate resistance against "the Israeli
occupation." That is how he described it in a conversation with then
U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright shortly after the
kidnapping. He also continues to back the Hezbollah kidnapping of
Tannenbaum, which Israel calls "an act of piracy and terror, and a
blatant violation of international law." Indeed, Syria is still
working to reduce international pressure on Hezbollah, most recently
with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara telling U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Powell in New York last November at the UN, that
Hezbollah is a national liberation movement and not a terrorist
organization.