President Emile Lahoud said on Sunday that the German-mediated prisoner swap which was announced on the weekend was âclear recognitionâ by Israel of Hizbullah as a legitimate power. The prisoner swap, which came after three years of intensive negotiations between Hizbullah and Israel with the help of German mediation will involve the exchange of more than 400 Lebanese and Arab prisoners for three Israeli soldiers â presumed dead â as well as Elhanan Tannenbaum who is presumed known to be alive. All four Israelis were kidnapped captured in 2000. âThe liberation of prisoners and detainees via this method of negotiation is a clear recognition on the part of Israel that the resistance is legitimate and national and is not a foreign terrorist movement as Israel claims,â said Lahoud, in a statement, âotherwise it would not have negotiated via a friendly nation and with the knowledge of Lebanese authorities.â
| There's still time to call the damned thing off... |
Lahoud also said Lebanese and Arabs should consider the swap as âproof that Israel has no immunity when it violates international laws.â The president also considered Israelâs occupation of Arab land and its torture of Palestinians as âonly temporary.â Prime Minister Rafik Hariri expressed his joy at the success of the negotiations and said, âthis agreement concludes a bitter chapter for the detainees and their families.â He also congratulated the Lebanese resistance on its achievements at the Lebanese and Arab levels. Beirut MP Nasser Qandil asked âwhat will the American ambassador Vincent Battle say? He told us just a day before that Hizbullah was a foreign terrorist organization.â Also, both former prime ministers of the country, Rashid Solh and Salim Hoss, praised Hizbullahâs achievement and said the event was a great day for the Palestinian cause, the Lebanese people and the Arab world.
| Yep. A definite source of Arab pride. |
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