Haaretz
Elul 4, 2006
Hezbollah would
not have abducted two Israel Defense Forces soldiers on July 12 had it
known that the action would lead to war in Lebanon, the leader of the
militant group, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said in an interview televised
Sunday.
Reservist soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were
kidnapped on July 12 in a cross-border raid by Hezbollah guerrillas,
sparking a 34-day conflict.
Hezbollah is demanding the release of
some of the thousands of Arabs in Israeli prisons in exchange for the
kidnapped soldiers.
"We did not think, even one percent, that the
capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask
me, if I had known on July 11... that the operation would lead to such a
war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said in an interview
with Lebanon's New TV station.
Nasrallah also said he did not
believe there would be a second round of fighting with Israel, and that
Hezbollah would adhere to the cease-fire despite what he called Israeli
provocation.
Nasrallah said that Israel was trying to press new
demands such as the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces at
Beirut airport, at Lebanese ports and on Lebanon's border with
Syria.
But, he added: "Their displaced people are going back and
they have started to rebuild the north. Someone who acts like that doesn't
seem to be going to war. We are not heading to a second round."
The
Hezbollah leader also said that negotiations on the release of the
abducted IDF soldiers have already begun.
"Contacts recently began
for negotiations," Hezbollah said. "It seems that Italy is trying to get
into the subject. The United Nations is interested and the negotiations
would be through [Parliamentary Speaker Nabih] Berri."
The
abduction led to a month of war between Israel and Hezbollah, which took
over large parts of south Lebanon. More than 1,300 people were killed,
mostly Lebanese civilians.
Germany negotiated an exchange of
prisoners between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004, which included the remains
of three Israeli soldiers captured on the border. Germany has said it was
willing to play a similar role in the case of the recent
prionsers.
Earlier this month, Haaretz reported that Israel was
willing to discuss a possible exchange.
The UN Security Council
resolution which led to a truce on August 14 suggests in its preamble that
the two sides are to find a solution to their disputes over
prisoners.
Jackson: Syria backs efforts to free abducted IDF
soldiers
Syria backs efforts to free the abducted IDF soldiers and
Arab prisoners held by Israel, U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said
after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday.
"President
Assad supports the finding of their status and release. He uses influence
and appeal to find out what their status is and ultimately their release,"
Jackson told a news conference held at the foreign ministry in
Damascus.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad said: "We
look kindly toward Reverend Jackson's mission and encourage it. He is
someone who is concerned about the human dimension of
crisis."
Jackson is heading a group of Muslim, Christian and Jewish
leaders on a humanitarian mission to the Middle East aimed at shoring up a
cease-fire in Lebanon. He will visit Lebanon and Israel
next.
Jackson used his clout as a non-establishment politician to
negotiate the release of several U.S. prisoners abroad in the 1980s and
1990s.
He secured the freedom of an American Navy pilot held by
Syria in 1983 after meeting with the late Syrian president Hafez Assad,
father of the current president, in Damascus.
Jackson said Syria
could play a substantial role in solving the present prisoners
impasse.
The Egyptian state-run daily Al-Ahram says that
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to terms on a prisoner exchange for the
release of the two abducted soldiers, Israel Radio reported
Sunday.