Copyright 2001 The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
June 13, 2001
HEADLINE: Nasrallah Admits IDF Captives Are Alive
By Jerusalem Post Staff and News Agencies
(June 13) - Israel is risking the lives of three captured soldiers and an
Israeli businessman by linking the release of captive Hizbullah leader
Mustafa Dirani to missing IAF navigator Ron Arad, Hizbullah leader Sheikh
Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday.
At a rally in Beirut, Nasrallah gave the first indication that the
abducted Israeli are alive: "We told the Israelis, 'Don't play the time
game. There are living people who could die, and we take no
responsibility.' Let the families of the Zionist prisoners understand
this."
Three IDF soldiers - Staff-Sgts. Omar Sawayid and Avraham Binyamin and
Sgt. Adi Avitan - were captured in an ambush on the northern border in the
Mount Dov region on October 7. A few days later Hizbullah announced it was
also holding Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum, a reserve colonel who
was apparently kidnapped while on a trip abroad.
Since then no concrete information has been released about their fate or
even their state of health and Hizbullah has categorically refused
repeated Red Cross requests to visit them.
"I say to Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of the enemy: You are not
linking the fate of Mustafa Dirani to the fate of Ron Arad, who became a
mystery," said Nasrallah. "You are linking the fate of your four soldiers
with the fate of Arad."
Nasrallah, who was speaking at a ceremony to honor Dirani, said Hizbullah
will declare a "clear and decisive" position on negotiations for an
exchange of prisoners.
"The Israelis are playing for time. They are trying to link the case of
Dirani with that of Arad. This point is not for discussion," said
Nasrallah. "If Ron Arad exists or not, if he appears or not, there will
not be a prisoner swap without Dirani."
The Sawayid family last night expressed satisfaction at Nasrallah's
indication that their son and the others are alive. "We have hoped and
believed all along that Omar and his two comrades are alive," said the
soldier's uncle, Muhammad Sawayid. "Now we're waiting for the next
development."
Dirani was abducted by a commando unit from Lebanon in 1994. Human-rights
groups say Israel also holds another 12 Lebanese.
Israel said it abducted Dirani to find out information on Arad, whose
plane went down in Lebanon in 1986.
The Defense Ministry said last night that Israel is sparing no effort to
bring home the kidnapped Israelis from Lebanon. The defense establishment
considers the three soldiers alive, since there hasn't been proof
otherwise.