JERUSALEM, 2 June 2008 — Israel handed over a convicted Hezbollah spy to Lebanon yesterday, and in a surprise move, the guerrilla group turned over what it said were the body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in a 2006 war.
The Hezbollah gesture, along with recent comments by its leader, signaled that a larger prisoner exchange could be in the works between the two bitter enemies. Officially, Israel said yesterday’s exchanges are unrelated to the negotiations reported to include the release of the longest-serving Lebanese prisoner in return for two soldiers captured in a 2006 cross-border raid that sparked that year’s monthlong war. But a senior Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said a deal was in the making, but there was no timetable for completing it.
Israeli authorities released Nasim Nisr, an Israeli of Lebanese descent, after he completed a six-year sentence for espionage, driving him from a prison in central Israel to the northern Rosh Hanikra crossing. Nisr was convicted in 2002 of espionage. He admitted in a plea bargain to passing information to a senior Hezbollah officer.
Nisr, 39, was born in Lebanon to a Jewish Lebanese mother and a Shiite Muslim father. Because of his Jewish ancestry, he qualified for Israeli citizenship and moved to Israel. In Lebanon, TV stations carried a live broadcast of his arrival. “I certainly hope that this heralds a prisoner swap deal in the near future,” said Ben-Natan, who represents two of the Lebanese prisoners still held by Israel.
Hezbollah Move A ‘Surprise’
Hezbollah official Wafik Safa told Al-Manar TV station that it handed over a brown box containing what it said were the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the war. The Israeli Army said the remains would undergo forensic examinations.
Helge Kvam, a Red Cross spokesman in Jerusalem, called Hezbollah’s move a “complete surprise,” and the Israeli military said the move was not coordinated.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah predicted last month that Israel would soon release prisoners it is holding, and German mediators have been trying to work out a swap for months.
In Beirut, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said yesterday’s exchanges were “preliminary steps” that “created a positive dynamism” in the secret talks between the sides.
Israel is believed to be holding seven Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Kantar, who has been in an Israeli prison since he was convicted of killing Israelis in a grisly attack in 1979. Hezbollah has been holding soldiers Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev since July 2006.
In the past, Israel has traded hundreds of prisoners is return for a single captive soldier, and it has historically paid a disproportionate price for the lives and even remains of its soldiers.
