Hezbullah didn’t even have to hold up its end of the deal fully, and yet, the prisoner exchange is going ahead.
The Israeli Prison Service transferred Monday morning four of the Lebanese prisoners slated for release in the framework of the upcoming exchange deal with Hizbulllah from the Ashmoret Prison to the Hadarim Prison, where terrorist Samir Kuntar, who is also included in the deal, is held.
The four prisoners, who had been held at Ashmoret since the Second Lebanon War, were taken to Hadarim by van at around 10:40 am.
Lebanese newspaper Al- Safir reported Monday that the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hizbullah will take place on Wednesday, at 9 am at the Nakura crossing, located north of Rosh Hanikra. German mediator Gerhard Konrad is expected to be present during the exchange.
And the IDF thinks that after the swap, Hezbullah might, gee, try to kidnap more soldiers or attack Israel or something. Because it’s not like they’ve ever done it before.
Israeli security establishment officials fear Hizbullah will boost its rearmament efforts and may look to escalate the situation along the northern border following the implementation of the upcoming prisoner exchange deal.
The officials believe, however, that Hizbullah is wary of a harsh Israeli response and will therefore act with caution.
Really? You mean like the caution that’s caused them to rearm to the point where they have more weapons now than they did before the war in 2006?
The organization has been able to obtain more rockets and has increased is caches of short and mid-range rockets by 30% and over – going from having several hundred rockets, to having several thousands.
Since the war ended, Iran has tightened its ties with Hizbullah, making its resources available to it, training and armament wise. Hizbullah’s recruitment capabilities have never better and it has been rapidly increasing in numbers
But it’s so good to know that Ehud Olmert thinks Israel is closer to peace with the Palestinians than ever before. And that he thinks giving up the Golan is the way to achieve peace with Syria. Because it’s working so well with Hezbullah, they’re ready to break out the doves and olive branches.
Oh. Wait.