Welcome Back, Nassim Nisr!

Source: Al-Manar TV, 01-06-2008

Nassim Nisr Receives a Warm Welcome in Lebanon

Nassim Nisr is back home.

The Lebanese detainee in ‘Israeli' jails since 6 years was released Sunday morning from the Nitzan (Ramle) Prison in Ramallah. Escorted by ICRC personnel, Nisr arrived in south Lebanon through the Naqura crossing where he received a warm welcome from thousands of people who gathered under the burning sun of the coastal town of Naqura. Hizbullah figures also attended the welcome ceremony.

Speaking to Al-Manar upon arrival, Nisr thanked everyone who contributed to his release.

For his part, Hizbullah senior official, Hajj Wafiq Safa, announced that Hizbullah has handed the ICRC some body parts of ‘Israeli' soldiers who were killed in Lebanon during the 2006 aggression on Lebanon. Safa refused to give further details "for the safety and secrecy of the ongoing swap negotiation."

Meanwhile, the ICRC representative who escorted Nisr into Lebanon thanked Hezbollah "for the gesture the party made today" adding that it was a very important move.


On Monday, Lebanese officials reported progress in the UN-mediated negotiations, saying that the German mediator Gerhard Konrad had met with members of Hizbullah and that a breakthrough was near. However ‘Israeli' security authorities and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office have said the handover is not connected to any future prisoner exchange, rather, was approved after it became evident that the decision to continue to hold Nisr indefinitely as a bargaining chip would not stand up to Supreme Court scrutiny.

Nisr was in very good spirits and joyfully raised the flag of Hizbullah while saluting the crowds and the press. His meeting with his mother, family members and Bassam Kintar, the brother of detainee Samir Kintar, was very emotional.



Hizbullah official in south Lebanon Sheikh Nabil Qawouk pledged that Lebanon will remain the Lebanon of resistance and victory "until the ultimate victory."
"The sincere promise of his eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been fulfilled. Despite all the problems in Lebanon, Hizbullah has never abandoned the cause of the detainees because it is in fact the biggest deposit...There is no complete freedom, no complete sovereignty and no complete dignity as long as there is one detainee in ‘Israeli' jails. The detainees are the precise criterion that determines the Arab nature of this Nation. The way to liberate them is through the resistance. As we speak today, we look forward to the very near future when our remaining detainees return home. It will be a great victory for Lebanon and the Arab nation when Samir Qintar and his companions return. Hizbullah and the resistance community announce our love and consolidation with our Palestinian brothers in ‘Israeli' jails. On this day also, we remember his eminence Imam Mussa Sadr," said Sheikh Qawouk.

Nassim Nisr took the stand after Hizbullah's official in the south and greeted all of Lebanon and in particular Sayyed Nasrallah and Hizbullah. "It will not be long before the Lebanese detainees in ‘Israeli' jails return home," Nisr said.


Nisr is a former Jew who converted to Islam moved to ‘Israel' from Lebanon and was sentenced to six years in prison in 2002 after he was convicted of providing information to Hizbullah.
His prison term has recently ended, but the ‘Israeli' security establishment considered holding onto him as a bargaining chip in the indirect negotiations between ‘Israel' and Hizbullah - and he has been held under administrative arrest at the Nitzan Detention Center.

Earlier this week, Nisr's attorney Smadar Ben-Natan said that "the timing of the release is not coincidental. ‘Israel' could have transferred him to Lebanon a few weeks ago, but the procedure has been delayed in order to be perceived as an ‘Israeli' gesture."
Earlier this week, Nisr's family in Lebanon said he had called
them to inform them of his imminent release.

Nisr left Lebanon during the ‘Israeli' invasion of 1982 and joined
his mother's family in ‘Israel', where he settled near Tel Aviv.
Nisr's brother Mohammed said Nassim had told him in a phone call
a month ago that "his jailers had placed him in solitary confinement
in a bid to persuade him to abandon his plans to return to Lebanon
with his two daughters, who are ‘Israeli' citizens."