Hizbollah 'captures' Israeli colonel

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA, OCT. 15. The Lebanese Shia militant group Hizbollah today claimed that they had captured an Israeli army colonel in a secret operation.

Israel has refrained from confirming the news though the Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak, has said that they were still checking the whereabouts of military personnel serving or in the reserves. If true this event, preceded as it was by the capture of three Israeli non-commissioned officers a few days ago, demonstrates that there is a dangerous side-show on Israel's northern borders to the main confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Hizbollah Secretary General, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, made this claim at a conference of religious parties convened in Beirut to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Mr. Nasrallah refused to provide any details such as the name of the officer or the circumstances in which the guerillas managed to capture him. Hizbollah is not known to make totally wild claims but it does know how to bend the truth for tactical purposes. Since the Hizbollah has not made known the details of its operation, the Israeli government was checking communities living along the border with Lebanon to see whether any reserve or serving military men from these areas has gone missing. Mr. Barak has also raised the possibility that one among the hundreds of Israelis who are travelling abroad at any time could have been kidnapped.

Meanwhile, there have been few developments in respect of the efforts to set free the three Israeli Sergeants who were captured eight days ago at the Shebaa farms area on the Israel- Lebanon border. The U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who was expected to deal with this issue has been side-tracked to the Sharm el Sheikh summit. A few European diplomats are reportedly trying to sort out the matter but there has been no confirmation so far that they have even been able to see the Israeli soldiers. While Hizbollah is expected to trade them from people in Israel's custody, it is not at all certain as to how many or whom Hizbollah wants released.

There are at least 19 Hizbollah cadres in Israel's custody including one leading figure. But the Palestinians have asked the Hizbollah to link the release of the Israeli soldiers to the release also of an unspecified number of the hundreds of Palestinian militants in Israeli custody. Iran too wants the release of four of their diplomats, captured when Israel invaded Beirut in 1982, linked with the release of the Israeli soldiers.

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Section  : International
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