Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, responding to a report that his judgement over the recent Hizbullah prisoner swap was influenced by Sharon family connections with Elhanan Tennenbaum's family, on Wednesday dismissed the allegations as a "wild attack" and denied any knowledge of the contacts amid an uproar on the developments in the Israeli public.
The Israeli Ma'ariv daily reported Wednesday that Sharon's support for the Hizbullah prisoner exchange might have been influenced by a business relationship with Tennenbaum's father-in-law.
According to the report, Cohen, 89, father of Tennenbaum's estranged wife and grandfather to his children, was a friend of Sharon's and had tutored him in agriculture.
Ma'ariv added that Cohen had managed the marketing of the produce of Sharon's Negev ranch, and had worked together with Sharon's late wife Lily for two decades.
"I weighed all the considerations on their merits, without any other considerations, period," Sharon said. "I did not know of the former family ties of Mr. Shimon Cohen, whom I have not seen nor spoken with for decades. I didn't know of his family ties. To this day I don't know how many sons in law or daughters in law he has had, or how many former sons in law he's had."
Sharon told reporters, "I heard this for the first time last night, close to midnight. In my view, what has transpired here is a wild attack of unlike any I have ever seen."
"I wanted and sought to bring our people back from the Hizbullah jail," Sharon said.
"Tennenbaum is being interrogated and will be interrogated. If he is found guilty, he will be punished. He will be punished here in Israel, not by Hizbullah."
In exchange for Tennenbaum and the bodies of three soldiers kidnapped and killed in October 2000, more than 400 Arab prisoners were handed over to Hizbullah. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
