First, I am utterly disgusted with the civilian deaths in Lebanon, and am astounded at how poorly Israel has handled this fight. The newest tragedy will be a turning point, and will force Israel to back down, leaving Hezbollah once again in control of southern Lebanon.
But then what? I've seen on this board repeated claims that Israel is intent on genocide, or ethnic cleansing, or water. I've also seen arguments that "everything is negotiable," and "peace is the only alternative." The one thing missing from these debates has been any reasoned discussion of what Hezbollah wants, what started the whole thing. Because ultimately the question must be, not how to stop the shooting now, but how to stop the shooting for good. And I suggest that negotiating with Hezbollah, making a 'prisoner exchange,' will not stop the problem- it will reward terror and encourage more.
So who are these "prisoners" Israel should exchange? We need to know that to know whether Hezbollah's decision to enter Israel and kidnap some soldiers and kill some more was a reasonable action to right a greater wrong, or a heinous act of blackmail and terror. If Hezbollah did this to free a Nelson Mandella-like character, perhaps you could ignore their non-governmental existence and say there was a basis for what they did. But if their action was done to blackmail Israel into releasing people any civilized society would lock up, and many would execute, then they are nothing but terrorists. Well, now we know the names of some of the "prisoners" they want exchanged. So we can look at them and decide, should Isreal have just "negotiated," said okey-dokey, let's do a swap? You decide.
Yehia Skaff
Who is Yehia Skaff? He has been identified as one of the "prisoners" to be exchanged, and he has been identified as a "Lebanese fighter." Who is he, and who was he fighting? I will start with very sympathetic Arab voices, lest I be accused of gross bias:
Islamic Awakening
The Hizb Allah leader also expressed hope for the release of Nasim Nisr, a Lebanese-born Israeli captured for having contacts with Hizb Allah, and Yehia Skaff, who was detained while taking part in a Palestinian attack that killed 35 Israelis.
This is Cyberia
Skaff was captured in April 1978 while taking part in an operation with Palestinian militants, who used gunboats to enter Israeli territory, clashing with Israelis between the coastal city of Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Khiam Center
**-Yihia Skaff of Mynia, Akkar, was detained on March 11, 1978 during an operation led by Dalal Al Mughrabi, the martyr, between Haifa and TelAviv. Yet, the occupied forces have denied his existence, in spite the fact that his family and some released detainees asserts his imprisonment.
And now, just what was this "Lebanese fighter" doing? Murdering innocent people. And just as an interesting aside, this very slaughter was the precedent for Israel's Operation Litani, which started three days later.
Palestine Facts
Bus Hijacking on Coastal Road, 1978
On March 11, 1978 eleven terrorists, again coming from Lebanon with Zoadic rubber commando dinghies, landed at the beach of Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael. They killed an American photographer and a taxi driver and hijacked a bus, whose passengers, including many children, were on a day-trip to the north. The hijackers forced the driver to return to Tel Aviv. Driving on the coastal highway, the terrorists fired on passing cars from the bus.
When the bus approached a blockade set up by the police at an entrance to Tel Aviv, a shootout took place. The terrorists left the bus and fired missiles. The bus burst into flames and most of the passengers were either burned alive or killed by terrorist gunfire.
The massacre left 35 innocent people dead and 100 injured. The terrorists were identified as belonging to Fatah; nine were killed and two captured.
Samir Qintar
The mother of his victims can tell you about Mr. Qintar. This is from the Washington Post:
"It was a murder of unimaginable cruelty. It had been a peaceful Sabbath day. My husband Danny and I had picnicked with our little girls, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2, on the beach. Around midnight . the terrorists burst into our building. Danny helped our neighbor climb into a crawl space above our bedroom; I went in behind her with Yael in my arms. Danny grabbed Einat and was dashing out the front door when the terrorists came crashing into our flat.
"I will never forget the joy and the hatred in the terrorists' voices as they swaggered about hunting for us, firing their guns and throwing grenades. As I lay there, I remembered my mother telling me how she had hidden from the Nazis during the Holocaust. "This is just like what happened to my mother," I thought.
"The terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl's skull against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Quntar."
None of the above justified killing civilians. It is offered, instead, to ask you to ask yourselves, is everything really negotiable? Is there anybody with whom Israel can negotiate, who can offer peace? Should ANY nation be blackmailed into releasing people like those described above, and if not, how should Israel react to the intentional kidnapping of its soldiers to force such releases?