Sayyed Nasrallah: Major swap deal talks progressing

Source: Al-Manar, 16-10-2007
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nastrallah renewed Tuesday the Islamic Resistance`s pledge to spare no effort to release the detainees and in "Israeli" jails. Sayyed Nasrallah was speaking live on al-Manar`s main news bulletin to
explain the circumstances surrounding the swap that took place Monday, in which the body of an "Israeli" settler was exchanged with the bodies of two Hizbullah martyrs and a detainee. "The deal that was carried out yesterday is a great achievement, but was only a partial and preliminary action. The purpose of the deal was humanitarian," Sayyed Nasrallah said. His eminence revealed that negotiations between Hizbullah and "Israel" through a UN mediator had begun since several months. "The "Israelis" raised the issues of the two captured soldiers, the bodies of soldiers buried in Lebanon since the 1982 invasion and the missing navigator Ron Arad. Of course we also raised the issues of our detainees, the bodies of our martyrs and the five Iranian diplomats whom the Lebanese Forces (of Samir Geagea) kidnapped and handed over to "Israeli" authorities," the Hizbullah chief said. Sayyed Nasrallah also revealed that the UN mediator asked Hizbullah to make a good will gesture and return back the body of an "Israeli" settler from Ethiopian origins who drowned in the city of Haifa in 2005 and his body found its way to Lebanese territorial waters. In return, his eminence added, the mediator said that "Israel" would make a similar gesture and release one of the five July war detainees and the bodies of two Islamic Resistance martyrs who also fell in that same war. "So all we had to do was hand over the settler`s body and give some information pertaining to a specific issue which I would not like to disclose. We did not go into names. We accepted what they had to offer and they considered our offer as acceptable. The UN mediator requested the operation runs in total silence and we were committed to silence to cut the way on any "Israeli" bids, similar to the ones that hindered parts of the larger-scale swap deal. Our assessment is that the operation is a major achievement and that it was of high humane value, pending the larger swap to take place," Sayyed Nasrallah said. The Secretary General stressed Monday`s swap gave a strong push to negotiations. "For the first time, I can say that there is progress in negotiations and there is a real chance for a major achievement as many problems are on their way to being solved