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Israeli Captives in Lebanon
Israel follows UN orders and pulls back from Lebanon. In response, Hizbullah continues to kidnap Israelis.
by Lenny Ben-David
On October 7, 2000, three Israeli soldiers were on routine patrol along the Lebanese border when Hizbullah terrorists ambushed them. It is believed that they were injured by a roadside bomb and then abducted by the terrorists who took them back to Lebanon. Investigations carried out at the scene of the abduction indicate that the Hizbullah men disguised themselves as UN personnel, using uniforms and vehicles carrying the UNIFIL insignia.
Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah boasted on Lebanese Television that his organization carried out the operation in solidarity with the Palestinian violence against Israel. He admitted that Hizbullah was holding the men, but he refused to show pictures of the men or even report on whether they were still alive. Requests for visits by the International Red Cross were also rejected. (Jerusalem Post, October 10, 2000)
"We will not offer any free information," Nasrallah told reporters soon after the capture, "not today, after a week or in a month. Experience has taught us that information on a soldier, whether he is dead or alive, in good condition or not... can't be for free."
The three soldiers are Sgt. Omer Saued from the Galilee village of Salame near Karmiel, Sgt. Binyamin Avraham from Bnei Brak, and Sgt. Adi Avitan from Tiberias. Suaed is a Bedouin Arab; the other two are Jews. They were captured in an area known as Shaba Farms, or Har Dov, a region of the Golan Heights that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war.
On October 15, 2000, Hizbullah announced that it had abducted another Israeli citizen, 54-year-old businessman, Elchanan Tennenbaum, a colonel in the Israeli reserves. He was apparently kidnapped while on a private business trip to Europe, and his whereabouts are unknown.
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International Law Demands their Return
Israel withdrew from all Lebanese territory in June 2000 in accordance with UN Resolution 425 that called for Israel's withdrawal as well as for Lebanon to establish effective authority over southern Lebanon with UNIFIL's assistance. To date, Lebanon refuses to deploy its security forces in the region and permits the Hizbullah militia almost total autonomy in the area. For many years Hizbullah used the area of southern Lebanon as staging areas for terrorist attacks against Israel, including katyusha rocket attacks against Israeli towns and villages.
On July 24, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reported to the Security Council that Israel had met all of its withdrawal commitments. Lebanon and Hizbullah, however, claimed that the Shaba area was Lebanese, a charge refuted by Anan's report. The area is not Lebanese and will remain under Israeli jurisdiction until there is an agreement with Syria. In a statement released on October 7, Anan pointedly referred to the area as "the Shaba farms area of the Golan Heights." (UN Press Release SG/SM/7578, October 7, 2000)
Despite Israel's decision to pull its troops out of southern Lebanon in July 2000, Hizbullah, Lebanon, and Syria, with its 30,000 troops in Lebanon, threaten to plunge the Middle East into regional war over the Shaba area. The abduction of Sergeants Avraham, Avitan and Suaed may represent the first shot in that war. Their return to Israel, therefore, is an important step to restoring peace to the southern Lebanon-northern Israel-Golan area.
Syria's new president, Bashar Assad, repeatedly encouraged Hizbullah to continue its aggressive action against Israel. Hizbullah receives its military equipment and materiel from Iran through Syrian territory and past Syrian roadblocks. Much of Hizbullah's supplies arrives in the Damascus airport and are transshipped to Hizbullah bases in Lebanon.
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Hizbullah -- Party of God Terrorists
Hizbullah ("The Party of God") was formed in the 1980s as part of the Khomeini revolution against the West. Its platform calls for the establishment of an Islamic republic in Lebanon, the eradication of Israel and a fight against Western (American) imperialism. Funded, armed and trained by Iran, Hizbullah and its constituent groups are believed to be responsible for terrorist attacks against American and French installations in Lebanon, the taking of American hostages, and bomb attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in South America. Hizbullah is also aided by Syria, which occupies Lebanon and permits the flow of Iranian weapons to the terrorist organization via the Damascus airport.
In the course of years of combat with the Hizbullah terrorist group, Israel captured two of the organization's senior commanders. Sheikh Nasrallah told reporters that he wants to trade the three soldiers for Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists held by Israel. (Reuters, October 11, 2000) Nasrallah's track record is not very good, however. For several years Israel has offered to exchange the two in return for IDF pilot Ron Arad who was captured 14 years ago by Nasrallah's allies and remains unheard from. Nasrallah has not responded.
Will the world have to wait 14 years to learn the fate of Avitan, Binyamin, Suaed and Tennenbaum?
* * *
Where are the Other POWs and MIAs?
Somewhere in the Syrian-Lebanese-Hizbullah-Iran partnership lays the answer to the fate of an Israeli businessman and four soldiers missing in southern Lebanon. Tennenbaum was abducted in October 2000. Katz, Feldman and Baumel have been missing since June 11, 1982. Pilot Ran Arad has been missing since October 16, 1986.
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What is Lebanon's role?
Lebanon is the home to Hizbullah. Lebanon is obligated by international law to prohibit militias and paramilitary organizations that operate from within its boundaries against other countries. Particularly after Israel's withdrawal from the southern Lebanese security zone, Lebanon is obligated to restore order to the area.
While Syria effectively controls Lebanon, Lebanon nevertheless possesses its own national interest. Lebanon is the recipient of American economic assistance, military training and assistance, and international funding backed by the United States.
According to the CIA's country assessment on Lebanon [World Factbook 2000]: "Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord -- the blueprint for national reconciliation -- the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizbullah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons." [Emphasis added.]
It is time for the Government of Lebanon to permit the International Red Cross to visit Elchanan Tennenbaum and the three Israeli soldiers and to confirm if they are alive. Lebanon should be encouraged to work to obtain their release, expand Lebanese control across southern Lebanon, and curtail the illegal, terrorist activities of Hizbullah.
* * *
For more information, visit the International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers
http://www.mia.org.il/
Lenny Ben-David served as Israel's "number two" diplomat in
Washington between 1997-2000. Today he is a consultant on government
and business affairs for corporations and organizations, including
HonestReporting.com.
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