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German mediators keen to move on with next phase of swap: Hezbollah
Buoyed by a huge exchange of prisoners and bodies between Israel and Hezbollah, German mediators are now keen to move on to the second phase of the deal, the Lebanese militant group said yesterday. Hezbollah secretary general Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah received the head of Germanyâs external Federal Intelligence Service August Hanning for talks on the next stage, a statement said. The two men âreviewed what had been achieved so far and agreed to start to set up specialist committees to begin immediate action on the next stage,â the statement said. As well as Thursdayâs release of nearly 450 prisoners in return for a captured businessman and the bodies of three soldiers, Israel agreed to free Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar at a later date in return for information on the fate of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad. Hanning said Germany would âmake maximum efforts with the parties concerned to ensure that the second phase too is crowned with success,â Hezbollah said. âI am full of joy at our success in securing the release of these prisoners, who have been able to rejoin their families after a long absence, easing their suffering and giving us a new spur to press our efforts to free more prisoners and throw light on the fate of others,â the German was quoted as saying. The 41-year-old Kantar received jail sentences totalling 542 years from an Israeli court in 1980 for infiltrating a northern seaside resort and killing a scientist and his four-year-old daughter as well as an Israeli policeman. Air force navigator Ron Arad has been missing since his aircraft was shot down over Lebanon in 1986 Posted by: TS 2004-01-31 |
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