OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 7 November 2003 — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was paving the way yesterday for a Hezbollah prisoner swap deal likely to see hundreds of Palestinians freed as fresh talks failed to resolve a dispute delaying the formation of a new Palestinian government.
Sharon faces a major battle to persuade fellow ministers to back the prisoner exchange, but he believes failure to push through a deal could lead to the death of an Israeli held by the militia of the Lebanese resistance group. “It’s a matter of life and death,” Sharon was quoted as saying by the top-selling Yediot Ahronot daily yesterday.
“The ministers must decide on the fate of a fellow Israeli. For my part, I am for saving him.” Sharon’s office announced Wednesday that the exchange deal would be put before ministers at the weekly Cabinet meeting tomorrow, but reports say a majority opposes the proposal.
It follows lengthy German-led mediation efforts between the two sides which are likely to lead to Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers being turned over in exchange for the freedom of a number of Hezbollah figures and hundreds of Palestinians.
Israeli media reports said 400 Palestinians would be set free along with 19 members of the Shiite militia. Tannenbaum, who was abducted in October 2000, has been accused by Hezbollah of being an Israeli spy.
The prospect of a deal has provoked fierce debate in Israel, with many commentators warning it will encourage further kidnappings.
Others mocked Sharon’s government for its apparent readiness to agree a deal with the hard-line Hezbollah, after undermining moderate former Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas by refusing to free more than a fraction of the estimated 6,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Abbas resigned exactly two months ago, plunging the Palestinian leadership into deeper political turmoil from which it is still struggling to emerge. His successor, Ahmed Qorei, has so far been unable to persuade veteran Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to accept his choice of interior minister, stalling the formation of a new government.
The central committee of the mainstream Fatah movement met again yesterday in the West Bank town of Ramallah but failed to break the deadlock. Grim-faced members refused to make any comment as they left the meeting, the third such gathering in two days. But sources confirmed that there had been no breakthrough, with one saying they had reached “crisis” point.
Qorei had been appointed by Arafat as head of an “emergency” eight-man Cabinet whose one-month term of office expired on Tuesday. He was then appointed head of a “caretaker” government but Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad said yesterday the new arrangement had no legal basis.
“I consider that the mandate of the transition cabinet of which I was a part expired on Nov. 4,” Fayad told AFP. “I think that the law is very clear on this subject - the mandate of a temporary government cannot be prolonged unless the necessary legal steps are followed, which has not happened here.”
Sharon himself says that the deal is vital to save the life of Tannenbaum, who was abducted in October 2000 while allegedly pursuing dubious business dealings. “It’s a matter of life and death,” Sharon was quoted as saying by the top-selling Yediot Ahronot daily yesterday. “The ministers must decide on the fate of a fellow Israeli. For my part, I am for saving him.”
According to various estimates, as few as five and no more than nine members of his 23-member coalition Cabinet have so far signed up to the idea of a swap while a majority are said to be firmly opposed. But among those thought to be in favor are heavyweights such as Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Education Minister Limor Livnat, a member of Sharon’s own right-wing Likud party, said that “freeing terrorists will encourage others to take Israelis hostage and reinforce Hezbollah”.
