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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| The starkest contrast between Israel and Lebanon |
| 2008-07-22 |
| Vincent Geloso Last week, Israel secured the release of the bodies of two soldiers who had been kidnapped by Hezbollah. Thousands of Israelis honoured Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were relieved that they could offer them a proper burial. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was present to support the families of the two soldiers in this time of sorrow. In the meanwhile, Hezbollah supporters celebrated the return of Samir Kantar. The President of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, greeted him warmly on the tarmac of the Beirut airport. His and others' liberation was the prize for reclaiming the bodies of the two soldiers. A spokesman from Hezbollah pronounced the exchange a day of "national pride" for Lebanon, adding, "there won't be any explosion today". Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, made a rare public appearance to celebrate the release of Kantar. But what exactly had this man done to deserve imprisonment in Israel? In 1979, Kantar shot three Israelis and subsequently murdered a four year-old girl by striking her repeatedly on the head with a rock. In 2004, Israel negotiated an exchange of prisoners (three bodies and a colonel for 450 Palestinians and 60 bodies), but refused to release Samir Kantar who had been implicated in the Palestinian Liberation Front but not Hezbollah. In 2006, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israelis soldiers in order to negotiate the release of Kantar and thus started the war of 2006. So Kantar, a child killer, was proclaimed a hero in Lebanon and was photographed with a bemused face making fascist-like salutes to the crowd of Hezbollah supporters. In the meantime, we witness thousands of Israelis sharing the sorrow of the widows mourning their husbands. Can you imagine a starker contrast? Actually you don't need to, since Quebec newspaper La Presse illustrated it for you (see picture). Ehud Goldwasser's brother, Chlomo, summarized this by saying, "the Lebanese sacrificed over 700 soldiers and thousands of civilians on top of a full year of its economy and for what? This child killer? I wish to say that I pity Lebanon for sacrificing so much for so little." Can you really disagree with that? |
| Posted by:Fred |