Copyright 2003 Haaretz
September 23
HEADLINE: Israel weighing exile for Palestinians freed in Hezbollah swap
BYLINE: Amos Harel and Arnon Regular
Israel is examining the possibility of sending into
temporary or permanent exile Palestinian prisoners
expected to be released in a prisoner exchange
deal with Hezbollah. Prisoner group leaders in
Israeli jails have expressed agreement in
principle to the proposal as long as the expulsion
is temporary.
Last night, Maj. Gen. (res.)
Ilan Biran was on his way back
to Germany for talks with
mediator Ernst Urlau,
representing Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder's office. Israeli
security sources said that the
latest statements issued by
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan
Nasrallah are too optimistic,
and that no final agreement has yet to be
reached over the number, or identity, of
Palestinians to be released. The sources also
emphasized that Israel does not intend to
relase Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank Fatah
leader on trial in Israel as a terrorist and
considered a likely heir to PA Chairman Yasser
Arafat, in the Hezbollah deal.
Al Quds, the largest circulation daily in the
Palestinian territories, yesterday quoted
Israeli and Lebanese sources saying that Israel
will release Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustafa
Dirani, who were captured in the late 1980s and
early 1990s to win the release of missing IAF
navigator Ron Arad. Reports have said that
Israel will also release Palestinian, Lebanese
and Syrian prisoners in the deal. In return,
Hezbollah would release businessman Elhanan
Tannenbaum and the bodies of three IDF soldiers
- Benny Avraham, Omar Suwad and Adi Avitan -
who were kidnapped at the Lebanese border in
late 2000 and are considered to be dead by the
IDF.
Nasrallah said yesterday that although Hezbollah
has no information about the fate of Arad, it
would seek as much information as possible
about the missing airman apparently to use as a
bargaining chip for future prisoner releases
and for information about the whereabouts of
four missing Iranian diplomats arrested by
Israeli-affiliated "Lebanese Forces" in the
1980s. Hezbollah believes the four diplomats
are in Israeli custody.
Israel has continuously turned down Hezbollah
demands to free Palestinian prisoners as part
of a deal, partly due to their refusal to be
expelled from the country, an Israeli
condition. But there has been a softening of
the prisoners' position, partly because of the
precedent set in the Church of the Nativity
case when armed men surrendered in exchange for
a safe passage to Cyprus, and from there to a
number of European countries. Israel will try
to present Palestinians who are released as
expelled, while the Palestinians will present
them as exiled.
There have been intensive contacts between
Hezbollah's leadership in Beirut and Damascus
and the Palestinian prisoner leadership in
Israel, both through cellular phones smuggled
into the prisons and via envoys. Gradually, a
list of about 400 prisoners was drawn up with
prisoners from all the Palestinian factions
appearing on Hezbollah's list. Many of those on
the list have "blood on their hands," and some
are serving life sentences. Hezbollah is also
insisting on freedom for political leaders in
the prisons.
Aside from Barghouti, Hezbollah is seeking the
release of Hamas activists such as Hassan
Yusuf, Hassan Tawil, Abdul Halek Natshe and
Jamal Abu Hilja; Fatah activists Ahmed
Barghouti and Nasser Awis; and Islamic Jihad
activists Ali Safuri, Thabet Mardawi and Nur
Jaber, who just yesterday admitted in military
court that he was involved in attacks that took
the lives of some 50 Israelis.
But security services sources say the
negotiations are still not over, and it is
unclear whether Israel will agree to
Hezbollah's demands. The sources said the list
of prisoners to be freed has not been
finalized, and it is uncertain that the
government will allow prisoners with blood on
their hands to be released. As one defense
source said yesterday: "There's a lot of
exaggeration in the information coming out from
Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority."
Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry, Judge Advocat
General and Shin Bet have begun unofficial
preliminary work to prepare for the release of
Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal. The
deal is expected to be challenged by relatives
of victims of terror attacks as well as some
ministers in the government.