A Fair Exchange ?
The bodies of two Israeli soldiers have been handed to the Red Cross by Hezbollah. This is to be in exchange for Lebanese prisoners who have been held by Israel and the “deal” is being seen as a triumph by the Lebanese Shi'ite group. Before the exchange, it was not clear whether the two soldiers were alive or not but the two plain black coffins delivered to the border told the soldiers' family what they had long feared. Earlier, five Lebanese prisoners were handed over at the Lebanese/Israeli border. These included Samir Qantar a Druze, who has been in prison in Israel for almost thirty years following a guerrilla raid which killed three Israelis, including a child. They are said by Hezbollah to be the last Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails. Some Israelis see today’s events as an unfortunate but necessary act, others see it as a sorry state of affairs when an “agreement” such as this is made. The Israeli soldiers' capture caused war with Hezbollah, 2 years ago, that la...