Israel hopes to complete the prisoner swap the cabinet
narrowly passed on Sunday by the end of the week. By the
slimmest of margins Israel's Cabinet approved the prisoner-
swap deal with Hizbullah. But Israel said it would not free
any prisoners "with blood on their hands" and Hizbullah still
insists on including Samir Kuntar, who murdered three members
of one family and an Israeli policeman in 1979.
On the one hand, the decision to trade 400 Arab prisoners
being held by Israel for an Israeli businessman, Elhanan
Tannenbaum, and the bodies of three soldiers held by
Hizbullah for three years, means that the Jewish state was
willing to go to great lengths to secure the return of its
kidnapped citizens.
On the other hand, many feared the exchange will increase the
prestige of Hizbullah and give Arabs and Muslims an incentive
to kidnap Israelis.
Some also criticized the agreement for not dealing with
missing Israeli airman Ron Arad, who disappeared after
bailing out of his fighter jet over Lebanon in 1986 and whose
fate remains unknown. Two of the Arab prisoners slated for
return to Lebanon are senior members of Hizbullah captured by
Israel as bargaining chips for information on Arad.
In a 12-11 vote, the Cabinet approved the deal, which was
developed through secret negotiations by representatives of
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, with German
mediation.
The prisoner swap includes the release of businessman Elhanan
Tannenbaum and the remains of St.-Sgts. Adi Avitan, Benny
Avraham, and Omar Sawayid in exchange for some 400
Palestinian prisoners without "blood on their hands" and
"several dozen" prisoners from Lebanon and other Arab
countries who are also not responsible for murdering Israeli
civilians.
The only prisoners who killed Israelis who will be released
are "several" Lebanese "involved in incidents in southern
Lebanon in which IDF soldiers were killed." One government
official said that the cabinet made a differentiation between
the killing of innocent civilians and the killing of soldiers
serving in Lebanon.
Samir Kuntar, one of the PFLP terrorists from Lebanon who
landed in Nahariya in 1979, burst into the home of Danny and
Smadar Haran and murdered Danny and his two young children.
Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said there will be
no deal if Kuntar is not included.
Sharon placed his prestige on the line in forcefully backing
the resolution, and he said at the beginning of the cabinet
meeting that failure to pass the resolution would be nothing
less than a death sentence for Tannenbaum. Likud and Shinui
ministers voting on both sides.
Officials stressed that this is a framework agreement and
that Biran is bound by its principles in concluding the deal
with Hizbullah.
In addition to Sharon, those voting for the resolution were
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Finance Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Industry, Trade,
and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert, Health Minister Dan Naveh,
Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, and Ministers-
without-Portfolio Gideon Ezra and Meir Sheetrit (all Likud),
Environment Minister Yehudit Naot, Science Minister Eliezer
Sandberg, and National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky
of Shinui.
Those opposed were Education Minister Limor Livnat, Immigrant
Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni, Agriculture Minister Yisrael
Katz, and Ministers-without-Portfolio Uzi Landau and Natan
Sharansky (all Likud); Justice Minister Yosef Lapid and
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz (Shinui); Transportation
Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Tourism Minister Benny Elon
(National Union); and Construction and Housing Minister Effi
Eitam and Social Affairs Minister Zevulun Orlev (National
Religious Party).
Sharansky said after the meeting that it was the "most non-
partisan, least political" cabinet vote in which he has ever
taken part. "This meeting was nobler than most cabinet
meetings," he said.
There were contradictory opinions from the Mossad, Shin Bet,
and IDF concerning the ramifications the deal would have on
Hizbullah's position in the Arab world, the likelihood that
it would invite more kidnap attempts, and the impact it would
have on bringing back missing airman Lt.-Col. Ron Arad.
Mossad head Meir Dagan said the agreement would increase
Hizbullah's prestige and increase the likelihood of other
kidnap attempts.
Shin Bet head Avi Dichter argued that he thinks the price is
reasonable but he was opposed because the deal does not
include anything concrete on Arad.
He said that Nasrallah knows how to get the Iranians to
provide information on Arad, an assessment disputed by Brig.-
Gen Yossi Kupperwasser, head of the intelligence research
department, who said Nasrallah has no impact on Iranian
decisions.
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon and
Kupperwasser favored the deal, arguing that there would be no
additional information on Arad if it was voted down. Ya'alon
said the chances of freeing Arad would actually increase now,
since it would put the issue back on the international
agenda.
Kupperwasser said that the release of the Lebanese prisoners
would reduce the legitimacy Hizbullah feels it has to carry
out kidnappings.
Sharon said there is now a window of opportunity to bring
home the three soldiers and save Tannenbaum, and that if no
action is taken that window might close.
Sharon dismissed the disrepute that has grown surrounding
Tannenbaum, who reportedly was abducted after being lured to
Abu Dhabi in the hope of making a shadowy business deal. The
alternative to the exchange, Sharon said, according to
Cabinet sources, would be "leaving a Jew, an Israeli citizen,
in the hands of Hizbullah, thereby bringing about his
death."
Critics countered that the release of the two Lebanese
warlords Israel has held as bargaining chips for Arad's
return, Hizbullah leader Sheik Abdul Karim Obeid and Shi'ite
activist Mustafa Dirani, meant that the government was
forsaking an Israeli soldier in the field.
Sharon appointed a special team to pursue information on
Arad's fate. A Cabinet statement said Sharon and Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz reserved the right to suspend or even
rescind the prisoner exchange based on the outcome of the
probe. This was a condition for Mofaz' support of the
deal.
