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Germany Mediates Between Hezbollah And Israel
additional reporting by Salem Mashkour
BEIRUT (IslamOnline) - Germany is mediating between Israel and the occupation resistance group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to secure an exchange of prisoners between the two sides, a Lebanese newspaper said on Monday.
The Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Safir reported that German diplomacy was likely to conclude a swap deal that will allow both sides to exchange prisoners of war in about ten days.
"The German effort went a long way towards reaching a deal that treats both sides equally and fairly," the newspaper said.
An official with Hezbollah, the group that resisted Israeli occupation for more than 15 years, said that his party's capture of several Israeli soldiers in October was aimed at "speeding up the process of forcing Israel to release Lebanese prisoners in Israel."
Hezbollah has repeatedly resisted calls by United Nations officials and U.S. diplomats to release the captive Israeli soldiers. Officials of the resistance movement had slammed the U.N. for taking sides with Israel and placing blame on the Hezbollah for recent events.
Hezbollah leaders have persistently insisted that Israel release those Lebanese prisoners held in its prisons first, before any consideration by the group of releasing its captives.
"It's a scandal," said Naiem Qassim secretary-general of Hezobllah. "The U.N. has now made several mistakes. They now represent Israel by all these statements that back Israeli policies...They [U.N. officials] do not notice our prisoners in Israeli jail or the fact that our land is still occupied."
The Supreme Guide of the Shiite group, Hassan Nasrallah, told news agencies that the deal was still conditional upon Israel's acceptance of Lebanese demands. "It all depends on whether Israel accepts [it] or not," he said.
The group, which forced Israeli occupation out of a 10-kilometer buffer zone in southern Lebanon in June, has asked for the release of 19 Lebanese prisoners in Israel and the return of the remains of Lebanese citizens killed in Israel during resistance operations.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has reportedly promised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak a hand with the release of the three Israeli soldiers and one officer captured by the resistance group.
Germany, has in the past, brokered mediation between the two parties, securing the release of a Lebanese prisoner of war in 1998 from an Israeli prison.
Lebanon is reportedly facing international pressure to curb the activities of Hezbollah in the disputed 25 square kilometer Shabaa Farms region at the foot of Mount Hermon. The resistance organization reportedly killed an Israeli solider in the area last month.
Israel has threatened tough reprisals against both Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon if attacks against Israelis and military positions on the border do not cease. Several international leaders have been trying to warn the Lebanese government to keep the resistance group on a tight leash.
Syria and Lebanon maintain that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon is partial, arguing that Israel must pull out its troops from the Shebaa Farms region for the withdrawal to be complete.
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