Copyright 1991 Jerusalem Post
Jerusalem Post
June 26, 1991
HEADLINE: PRISONER DEAL SAID SUNK BY LEAKS
BYLINE: David Rudge; [Bradley Burston adds]
A prisoner exchange planned for last week was called off because
of leaks to the press, according to news agency reports, quoting Red
Cross officials in Geneva.
A Red Cross source was quoted as saying that it appeared to have
been a major operation that would have involved foreign hostages,
believed to be held by Shi'ite extremists affiliated to the Hizbullah,
IDF servicemen missing in Lebanon, and prisoners and detainees held by
Israel.
According to the reports, the planned exchange had been agreed in
secret talks in which representatives from Israel, Iran, the U.S. and
the Soviet Union participated.
There have been several signs in the past month that a "package
deal" might be in the offing, despite the complexities of the
situation.
The first indication occurred at the end of last month when
Sheikh Abbas Musawi, newly-elected leader of the pro-Iranian
Hizbullah, offered to exchange Israelis held by his organization in
return for Lebanese held by Israel.
He later clarified the terms, saying the Hizbullah also expected
Israel to free Palestinian prisoners, as well as Lebanese.
Meanwhile the Hizbullah's mentor, Iran, has reiterated its
willingness to act as a "mediator" to facilitate an exchange of
prisoners.
Iran is anxious to re-establish ties with western countries, and
to seek the release of billions of dollars worth of assets which have
been frozen by the U.S., pending a soltuion to the hostage crisis.
Recently, a number of large U.S. companies were given government
approval to purchase Iranian oil, a sign that the freeze might be
coming to an end.
The Hizullah and its affiliated groups are believed to be holding
12 foreign hostages in Lebanon: six Americans, three Britons, two
Germans and an Italian. Seven Israeli soldiers are missing in Lebanon
or believed to be held as prisoners. Three went missing during the
Sultan Ya'acub tank battle with Syrian troops in the early days of the
Lebanon War. A year later, in 1983, Druse soldier Samir Assad was
captured in Lebanon by members of Naif Hawatmeh's Palestinian terror
group.
Two Givati brigade soldiers were captured by Hizbullah terrorist
in an ambush inside the security zone in south Lebanon in February
1986. The seventh missing Israeli, IAF navigator Ron Arad, was
captured by members of the Amal Shi'ite movement after ejecting from
his plane over Lebanon. He was later reportedly handed over to
members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who work with the
Hizbullah in Lebanon.
With the exception of photographs and documents sent to the
family of Arad, nothing has been heard officially about the other
Israelis since they went missing, despite repeated requests by Israel
and international bodies to allow visits by Red Cross representatives.
In the meantime, the Hizbullah itself is being put under pressure
from the families of Shi'ites detained by Israel, including regional
Hizbullah leader Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid, who was snatched from his
south Lebanese home by IDF paratroopers in July 1989.
Israel has offered to allow the Red Cross to visit Obeid if,
simultaneously, reciprocal visits were made by members of the
international organization to Israeli servicemen believed held by the
Hizbullah.
Significantly, no detainees were released from the El Khiyam jail
inside the security zone in south Lebanon this year, unlike "goodwill
gestures" in previous years to mark the Moslem Id al-Adha festival.
Bradley Burston adds:
Military sources refused to comment directly on the report,
stating that they had "heard of no such offers" of an imminent
prisoner exchange or release.