Israel's approval of prisoner swap stirs emotions

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon his political prestige on the line, narrowly pushed through his cabinet yesterday a prisoner exchange with the Lebanese Hizbollah guerilla group that touched raw emotions in Israel.

The cabinet opted by a vote of 12-11 for a deal that would bring home a kidnapped Israeli businessman and the bodies of three soldiers, while excluding a national hero: long-missing airman Ron Arad.

But in a condition that could derail the agreement, the cabinet rejected the release of any Lebanese prisoners involved in killing Israelis.

That would rule out freeing Samir Qantar, a Lebanese prisoner who killed three people in a 1979 attack. Hizbollah, which declined immediate comment on the cabinet decision, has said the deal would not go ahead without his release.

"We all felt very torn," said Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, who voted against the deal after an eight-hour cabinet debate, telling Israel television the swap would be too lopsided.

Under the deal, Israel was to release more than 400 jailed Palestinians and Lebanese prisoners, including two Lebanese guerilla leaders abducted by Israeli commandos as bargaining chips for Arad, missing since 1986.

It was not clear when the deal would take place. Media reports said it could take several weeks, and would be carried out in stages as Israel wanted Hizbollah to first provide DNA samples of the three soldiers snatched in a border raid three years ago.

Qantar was part of a four-member guerilla squad that burst into an apartment in Israel's northern coastal city of Nahariya 24 years ago and killed a four-year-old girl, her father and a policeman.

The man's wife hid in a closet with another daughter, aged two, and accidentally smothered her to death while trying to keep her from crying out. The cabinet decision gave the go-ahead to Israel's envoy, Ilan Biran, to finalise outstanding details of the exchange with Hizbollah through a German middleman.

Ministers who objected to the deal said they feared that Israel would be inviting further pressure from Hizbollah to seek the release of more prisoners.

"We are giving a very dangerous signal to Hizbollah.. you don't negotiate with terrorists," said Housing Minister Effie Eitam.

Sharon argued before ministers that Israel could not pass up the chance to save businessman and reserve army colonel Elhanan Tannenbaum from what the prime minister said would be certain death at Hizbollah's hands if the deal was voted down.

Tannenbaum's family had campaigned for his return and denied Israeli media reports that the man abducted in Abu Dhabi after travelling there on a false passport in October 2000 on the promise of a business deal, was involved in criminal activities.

The prisoners slated for release also include dozens of Arab fighters from Syria, Morocco, Sudan and Libya involved in attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon during its 22-year occupation that ended in 2000.

Israel would also hand over the bodies of several dozen guerillas.

Relatives of Arad, whom Israel believes is being held by Iran, were bitter about the deal. They accused Sharon, a former general, of abandoning a soldier on the battlefield.

"Today, Ron's funeral procession is beginning," his wife, Tami, lamented on Israel Radio.