Copyright 2003 Haaretz
August 27
Mediator visits Tannenbaum in Hezbollah captivity
BYLINE: Amos Harel, David Ratner and Aluf Benn
A German mediator met a few days ago with kidnapped
Israeli citizen, Colonel (res.) Elhanan
Tannenbaum, who is being held by Hezbollah in
Lebanon.
The visit by the mediator, who
reported to Israel on
Tannenbaum's medical condition,
is part of a deal in which
Israel yesterday handed over to
Hezbollah the bodies of two of
the organization's members who
were killed in southern Lebanon
prior to the Israel Defense
Forces withdrawal from the security zone in 2000.
Defense establishment sources expressed cautious
optimism for the first time yesterday regarding
the chances of bringing the issue of Israelis
being held by Hezbollah to a close within the
coming months. Security sources said that the
hand-over of the bodies was "a
confidence-building measure" not only with
regard to Tannenbaum, kidnapped in October
2000, but also in anticipation of receiving
information from Hezbollah on the fate of three
IDF soldiers kidnapped by the Shi'ite
organization and declared fallen soldiers whose
burial sites are not known.
Lebanese sources said that in return for the
bodies, Hezbollah handed over information
concerning all four Israelis. The Hezbollah
official in charge of the organization's
activities in southern Lebanon, Nabil Kaouk,
noted that this was just the first practical
step in the framework of contacts with Israel,
and that other steps would follow soon.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan
Nasrallah also said that the return of the
bodies was part of a larger move. On Saturday
night, Nasrallah said he hoped the organization
would soon be able to bring home Hezbollah
prisoners being held in Israel. Yesterday, Abu
Dhabi Television estimated that the deal
between Israel and Hezbollah would be completed
within 7-10 days.
Channel 1 television reported last night that
the German mediator, Ernst Uhrlau, achieved an
initial breakthrough in his contacts with
Hezbollah in recent days, following a long
period during which the Shi'ite organization
adopted a rigid stance, which, according to
Israeli defense officials, prevented any
progress.
Uhrlau, who oversees intelligence affairs for
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, was
recently appointed as mediator for the affair.
On his return from Beirut, he met in Germany
with Major General (res.) Ilan Biran, Israel's
coordinator for prisoners and MIAs, and gave
him a report on his visit to Tannenbaum.
According to reports, the German mediator said
Tannenbaum was in "reasonable" condition. About
two months ago, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
said that Tannenbaum's condition was cause for
concern.
Based on the information received from the
mediator, Israel decided to transfer to Lebanon
the bodies of two of the organization's
members. Sharon approved the hand-over, and has
been updated on the handling of the matter.
Yesterday, at precisely 4:00 P.M., the bodies of
Ammar Hammoud and Ghassan Zaatar were handed
over to representatives of the International
Red Cross at the Rosh Hanikra border post.
Hammoud was killed in a suicide attack against
an Israeli military convoy on the
Qlai-Marjayoun road in southern Lebanon in
December, 1999. Zaatar was killed in clashes
with Israeli troops in the southern Lebanon
town of Iqlin al-Tuffah in November, 1998.
The two bodies, which were received by a large
crowd on the Lebanese side of the border, will
be buried today in the southern Lebanon
villages.
Hezbollah hopes that the return of the bodies is
the first step toward the return of 16 Lebanese
prisoners held in Israel, including Sheikh Abd
al Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani. The two were
abducted by Israel in the early 1990s in
efforts to determine the fate of missing Israel
Air Force navigator Ron Arad.
Israel is also holding the bodies of dozens of
Hezbollah fighters killed in battles in
southern Lebanon in the years prior to the
IDF's withdrawal from the area. The bodies are
buried in cemeteries for fallen enemy
soldiers.
Yaakov Avitan, the father of kidnapped IDF
soldier Adi Avitan, said yesterday that the
family had received early word of the intention
to hand over the bodies to Hezbollah. "We knew
it was going to happen; and naturally, our
first expectation is that it will help get Adi
back home," he said. "But we know Sheikh
Nasrallah, and we have already suffered
disappointments from the man and his ways in
the past. Nevertheless, the return of the
bodies is a ray of light. It could be a small
part of numerous stages in negotiations with
Hezbollah, and we simply don't know this yet."
Haim Avraham, the father of kidnapped soldier
Benny Avraham, said: "There may be things
happening behind the scenes, but we, in any
event, are not being updated. I received
information on the matter from elements abroad
who were aware of it, and only when I inquired
with the army did it emerge to be correct."
Uri Tannenbaum, the son of Elhanan Tannenbaum,
said: "We all hope that this step taken today
will lead to my father, who has been in
captivity for almost three years, coming home
alive."