Israeli Thugs Release PLO Hero --- Not

Hezbollah Hands Over Remains of 2 Soldiers


By ISABEL KERSHNER and GRAHAM BOWLEY
Published: July 17, 2008
ROSH HANIKRA, Israel ?- Two black coffins containing the remains of two Israeli soldiers were carried on Red Cross trucks across the Lebanese border on Wednesday as a long-awaited prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah got underway.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia, said the coffins, which were handed over to the Israeli military at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing on the coast high above the Mediterranean, held the remains of two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who were captured in a raid that started the war between Hezbollah and Israel two years ago. Israel later confirmed that the remains were those of the two soldiers.

The transfer of the two coffins was the first confirmation by Hezbollah that the soldiers were dead. Hezbollah had refused to clarify whether the soldiers had been killed at the time of their capture or afterward, although it had long been assumed in Israel that they were no longer alive.

"At this time, we are unified as one big family," said Maj. Avital Leibovich, an army spokeswoman. "We have been successful in bringing our sons home but it is very emotional and painful."

The positive identification of the soldiers' remains set the stage for the remainder of the prisoner exchange to proceed, in a deal with Hezbollah that has stirred an especially painful debate in Israel.

In exchange, Israel has agreed to hand over Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese murderer and one of the most notorious convicts in its prisons, as well as other Lebanese prisoners and dozens of infiltrators' bodies.

Mr. Kuntar was part of a cell that in 1979 raided the northern Israeli town of Nahariya, fatally shooting a civilian, Danny Haran, while his daughter Einat, 4, watched, then smashing the girl's head, killing her. Mr. Haran's wife, Smadar, hid with their 2-year-old daughter, accidentally suffocating her in an effort to stop her from crying out.

The transfer of Mr. Kuntar and the other elements of the exchange were now expected to proceed later Wednesday, the Israeli army said.

By early afternoon, Mr. Kuntar and the other prisoners had been brought into northern Israel but were not yet at the border crossing, officials said. Red Cross officials said nearly 200 bodies had been exhumed on the Israeli side and transferred to 10 Red Cross trucks which would move them to the Lebanese border.

Mr. Kuntar has said he regrets nothing, and he will likely receive a hero's welcome when he returns to Lebanon.

On Wednesday, he and the other Lebanese prisoners were due to be greeted by officials on the Lebanese side of the border before being flown in a Lebanese presidential helicopter to Beirut airport for an official welcoming ceremony to be attended by Lebanon's new president and former army chief, Michel Suleiman, and other government officials.

There was to be a second, later ceremony in the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs. That ceremony was to be addressed by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, although it was unclear whether he would make his address in person or via television link. On the road leading to Beirut airport on Wednesday, banners welcomed the prisoners and congratulated Hezbollah in securing their release.

Meanwhile, at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing, on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean and the coast of Israel, security was tight with Israeli Navy boats patrolling in the waters below.

Although Israel has a history of trading large numbers of prisoners to obtain the release of captured soldiers, the prospect of exchanging a despised prisoner for bodies has raised hackles. There is also considerable mistrust of Hezbollah and fears that its seeming success in obtaining Mr. Kuntar's release will only encourage it to attack again.

After tests confirmed the bodies were those of the Israeli soldiers, two of the army's most senior commanders each visited the families of Mr. Goldwasser and Mr. Regev to inform them of the bodies' arrival.

The remains were than taken from the border to a nearby army base where family members were due to see coffins.

Isabel Kershner reported from Rosh Hanikra, Israel, and Graham Bowley from New York. Nada Bakri contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.

Source: The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/world/middleeast/17mideast.html?hp