The secretary general of the Lebanese Hizbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel on Tuesday that time was running out to win the release of four Israelis held by the group, and accused Israel of “complicating” a possible swap by including missing airman Ron Arad in the deal.
Nasrallah’s comments came alongside reports that US Secretary of State Colin Powell intends to play a greater role in securing information on the four Israelis being held by Hizbollah, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
Powell’s decision is in response to growing irritation in Israel at the lack of movement in winning the release of the three soldiers and a suspected Mossad intelligence agent abducted in two operations last October.
Nasrallah made the comments during a ceremony to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the kidnapping by Israeli commandos of Mustapha Dirani, detained in Israel since 1995, the paper said.
“I say to Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of the enemy: You are not (only) linking the fate of Mustapha Dirani to the fate of Ron Arad, who became a mystery,” Nasrallah said. “You are (also) linking the fate of your four soldiers with the fate of Arad.”
Dirani was kidnapped by the Israelis in the hope that he would shed light on the circumstances of Arad’s disappearance after his F-4 Phantom crashed in Lebanon in 1986. Arad was briefly held by Dirani’s group.
Addressing the families of the four Israelis abducted by Hizbollah, Nasrallah said: “Your leaders are not telling you the truth...They are not doing anything to solve this.
“Time is not on your side...situations might change and living people might die, ” Nasrallah said.
All three Israeli soldiers were wounded, at least one of them seriously, during the kidnapping operation near the occupied Shabaa Farms last October.
No information on their condition has been released since the soldiers were captured.
Israeli President Moshe Katsav complained to US officials recently that the United Nations and the Red Cross were not doing enough to obtain information on the well-being of the captives, the paper quoted the Israeli daily Maariv as saying.
Katsav asked Powell to use his influence with Beirut and Damascus to achieve results.
Powell has reportedly decided to await the outcome of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s visit to Lebanon and Syria this week before taking further action, according to the paper.
Germany has been mediating talks on the prisoners, but negotiations are not believed to have proceeded far – Albawaba.com
