Naming names
Hizbullah and Israel say they remain engaged in a long-awaited prisoner exchange deal despite recent violence, reports Mohalhel Fakih from Beirut
Hundreds of mourners gathered in the southern Lebanese village of Houla for the seven-day memorial of Ali Sobhi Yassin, the four-year-old killed by Lebanese fire last Tuesday in a flare-up of violence along the border with Israel. Besides the uncertain future of the communities along the volatile frontier, the mysterious circumstances of Ali's death contributed to the tragedy and gloom hanging over the memorial. Even so, every sporadic rumour that a long-awaited prisoner exchange is imminent still excites the populace.
"Today we heard that they [the Israelis] will continue the negotiations," Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday. These were his first comments since Israel bombed a target near Damascus on 5 October that it claimed was a Palestinian training camp. Syria claimed the attack threatened both Damascus and Beirut and targeted civilians. As for its effect on the proposed prisoner exchange, the attack tested an already tense situation along Lebanon's border with Israel.
"We are supposed to complete the final stage [of negotiations] which relates to the names [of Palestinian prisoners] in the swap deal," Nasrallah said. Concurrently, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office released a statement that negotiations will continue, with a final proposal to be submitted to the Israeli cabinet for approval.
The killing of Ali Yassin occurred hours after an Israeli soldier's killing prompted speculation that a swap between Hizbullah and Israel would be halted. Hizbullah denied it was behind the shooting incident that claimed the life of the soldier. It was also unknown whether the blast that killed Ali and critically wounded his twin brother Ahmed was from the debris of an anti-aircraft shell fired inside Lebanon or a missile aimed at Israel that fell short.
The border has since remained calm, but Israeli warplanes continue to circle Lebanese skies, drawing condemnation from Beirut. Critically, Hizbullah, which helped oust Israel from southern Lebanese territory in an armed resistance campaign in May 2000, and Israel, remain engaged in German- mediated talks that began months ago.
Israel is demanding Hizbullah's release of the bodies of three soldiers it believes are dead and an Israeli reserve colonel, in exchange for some 15 Lebanese and hundreds of Arab detainees, including Palestinians. Nasrallah said last week there had been an agreement with Israel on which prisoners would be released. The fate of Israeli airman Ron Arad, however, remained an intractable problem.
Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Massoud Idrisi on Sunday said his country has no information on the missing airman, who disappeared after his plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. A growing number of Israeli officials have urged their government to freeze the deal were it not to include information on Arad. Hizbullah denies knowledge of his whereabouts, and Israel has accused Iran of holding him.
"The Israeli enemy is accustomed to making such false allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran ... We have denied this report and stated that we do not have any information on the fate of the airman Arad," Idrisi said. Israel says Arad was first captured in Lebanon by a group affiliated with Hajj Mustafa Dirani. Israel later kidnapped Dirani and Hizbullah official Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid from Lebanon to use as bargaining chips for information on Arad. Both are expected to be released as part of the looming swap.
Nasrallah also hinted that his Shi'ite group would not oppose a deal between Israel and Jordan to release about 30 Jordanians of Palestinian origin held in Israeli jails. These detainees had originally been included in the group's bilateral prisoner exchange demands. Israel ruled out their release to Hizbullah and is reportedly negotiating terms of their release with Jordan. Their fate had been one of the stumbling blocks for any prospective deal between Hizbullah and Israel. Jordan and Israel have a peace agreement, and a release of Jordanian detainees to Hizbullah, which is actively antagonistic towards the latter, would be of concern to Amman.
The Beirut daily As-Safir on Monday reported that Israel has sent Hizbullah, via German mediators, a list of Palestinians it would release in the deal, signalling that the negotiations have entered a decisive stage. It also said Israel failed to respond to alleged Arab-Israeli spy Azam Azam's request to be released from detention in Cairo as part of the Hizbullah swap.
