Hezbollah will not release Israelis without a prisoner exchange

[oberliner]

And they will not accept a prisoner exchange that does not include Samir Kuntar. They have demanded the release of all 4 of the Lebanese prisoners held in Israel (Samir Kuntar included) plus a sizable number of the almost 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Should Israel agree to such an exchange?

I posit that they should not.

I would also argue that the 105 Palestinians that are being held in Administrative Detention in Israel (as of 7/18) receive a trial or are immediately released, as per the recommendations of B'Tselem.

Samir Kuntar, however, I think belongs in jail and should not be released.

Here is the story of Samir Kuntar from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A2740-2003May17¬Found=true

Here is information from B'Tselem about the Palestinian prisoners in Adminstrative Detention:

http://www.btselem.org/english/Administrative_Detention/Statistics.asp

Source for Hezbollah unwillingness to accept release Israelis without prisoner exchange:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060726/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictlebanon_060726150908

Source that Kuntar must be part of that exchange:

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15102837.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_news



Edited as a result of inaccurate statement pointed out by reply #3

[SammyBlue]

1. So, they get what they want, disregard the agreement

use this episode to show how Israel is weak to fire up their intentionally uneducated and illiterate masses and begin this again??? Like they have many times in the past???

No deal!

Lay down your arms, we'll lay down ours and then we'll talk.

[TheFarseer]

2. No way

should they agree to a prisoner exchange. That will just show them that they can get what they want if they kidnap people and start firing rockets. Just like a toddler throwing a fit in a toy store, you can't give them what they want unless you want them to throw a fit every time you go near a toy store. The only way to stop this is to dismantle Hezbollah as a military force and get the Lebanese government in charge of their entire country. Neocons should note that I did not say the USA needs to invade Iran, Syria and North Korea.

[malaise]

11. Doesn't a prison exchange suggest

that both sides have detained people. On what basis is one side allowed to detain people and throw them in prison without a trial? Isn't that the reason for the objections to Guantanamo Bay by Democrats and DUers?

If someone commmitted a crime and is in prison that is one thing, but how many persons have been imprisoned without a trial. Isn't it perfectly normal for civilized countries to exchange prisoners?

I am slowly becoming afraid of the lack of humanity that is spreading like an infectious disease on this planet.

[TheFarseer]

12. the people Israel is detaining

are detained for a reason. Most of the people we are talking about were involved in terrorist activities and if they were released, they would be strapping bombs to themselves or otherwise trying to kill innocent Israelis. They're not people that were dropping their kids off at day care one minute and being arrested for "being brown on a Friday" the next.

I suppose you could make some kind of argument that taking Israeli *soldiers* prisoner is justified, but in peace time? I just don't know that you can justify that. They weren't hurting anyone. They were just people working for a living.

[malaise]

13. So who precisely

drops missiles on the people of Gaza and on their homes and kill their children? Who picks them up based on the judge, jury and executioner's interpretation of who is guilty and who is innocent. Are those military people? Collective punishment for all right?

Who executed this
http://www.independent.co.uk/

You said most - what about the rest? There was a lovely thread here this week about one of the Israeli soldiers against war. Read his words carefully and then tell me that innocent Palestinians or Lebanese are not in Israeli jails (or dead).

[bornskeptic]

3. That's not what your link says.

BEIRUT (AFP) - Shiite militant group Hezbollah, locked in fierce battles with Israeli forces in south Lebanon, has demanded an immediate ceasefire and indirect talks for a prisoner exchange after world diplomats failed to agree an instant truce.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060726/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictlebanon_060726150908

They demanded a ceasefire and talks about a prisoner exchange-not a prisoner exchange before a ceasefire.

[Mandate My Ass]

5. oberliner does that a lot

cherry picks and misrepresents.

[oberliner]

6. you are totally correct - will edit original post accordingly

A ceasefire and talks about a prisoner exchange - not a prisoner exchange before a ceasefire.

I apologize.

[laura888]

9. Ummm.... so the only reason there is no ceasefire is because Israel...

....doesn't want to even talk?

Meanwhile, innocent Lebanese are being killed every day.

Wow.

[oberliner]

10. great point, alternatively

The only reason there is no ceasefire is because Hezbollah won't release the two Israelis they took.

Israel has and continues to offer a complete cease fire as soon as Hezbollah releases the two men.

Meanwhile, innocent Lebanese are being killed every day.

[The Stranger]

4. WhoTF is Samir Kunta?

[oberliner]

7. Lebanese prisoner held in Israel

see wapo link in OP for more info

[cali]

8. Samir Kuntar

is evidently a hero to H'zbollah, and Nasarallah has stated that his release is a condition for the release of the captured IDF.

Here's a snippet from wiki:

"After holding to the hostages, a shootout with Israeli policemen and soldiers erupted. Samir Kuntar shot and killed the father at close range in front of his daughter, and killed the four-year-old girl by hitting her with the butt of his rifle against a rock, crushing her skull. The two-year-old girl was accidentally suffocated to death, when her mother desperately tried to keep her quiet. A policeman and two of Samir Kuntar's unit were also killed. Kuntar and the fourth participant in the shootout were captured. The latter, Ahmed Abarrass, was freed by Israel in the 1986 Ahmed Jibril prisoner deal in return for three Israeli soldiers."


Kuntar was 16 when he took part on this raid into Israel.