Reflections on the Israel-Hezbollah Prisoner Swap Deal

by Khalid Amayreh for Palestine Think Tank

The latest prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hezbollah is a healthy indicator that at least some Arabs are beginning to understand the depraved Zionist mentality, and act accordingly. Such mentality is based on arrogance, insolence, and religious and ethnic superiority.

Israel, a country whose collective mindset views non-Jews as virtual animals or at least lesser human beings, had to face a new enemy, an enemy that will not be scared by overwhelming brutality, but one that will meet Israel’s state terror with toughness, resilience, valor and defiance.

This is a new reality that Israelis, especially Israeli leaders, have yet to come to terms with, especially psychologically.

This explains the deep frustration that is apparent in the tone of Israeli leaders reacting to the latest swap deal, especially the fact that Israel has been forced to release the Lebanese guerilla Samir Kuntar.

Israel, utterly ignoring her own countless murderous sins, has come to view Kuntar as the prototype of the ultimate terrorist - as if the tens of thousands of Jewish murderers and terrorists who have enormous amounts of innocent blood on their hands were the Lord’s angels of love and mercy.

Indeed, if Israel were a normal state, and its people a normal people, it would have adopted an honest and just approach toward its neighbors, an approach that would not discriminate between “blood and blood” and “life and life.”

Undoubtedly, such an approach would have saved thousands of lives, Jewish and Arab, and spared the region and its peoples decades of pain and suffering.

But then Zionism would be losing its face, mind and heart, and would morph into something entirely different.

Unfortunately, it is probably futile to preach morality to Zionism, a manifestly demonic movement which experience shows is not capable of behaving morally and humanely.

Well, let us examine some of the statements and remarks Zionist leaders have been making with regard to the latest swap deal with Hezbollah.

Shimon Peres, the hero of the Qana massacre of 1996, who is now Israel’s President, has been quoted as saying that “We don’t want murderers to go free, but we have a moral obligation to bring home soldiers whom we sent to defend their country.”

Peres also reportedly said that “my heart is torn over the decision to pardon Kuntar,” adding that his decision to that effect “in no way constituted forgiveness.”

Certainly no one, Arab or otherwise, is particularly infatuated with what Kuntar did in 1979, although the Israeli army then was at least partially responsible for the killing by the Lebanese guerilla of three Israelis, including a paramilitary policeman, a man and his daughter.

The three lives, like numerous other victims, Arab and Jewish, would have been spared had the insolent Israeli military establishment behaved wisely.

After all, Kuntar, and his friends who were killed in that rescue operation, didn’t come to Israel to kill and shed blood but to force Israel to release Arab prisoners.

Nonetheless, one is prompted to ask difficult questions, questions that most Israelis don’t like to hear - let alone answer, but when confronted with them, they either seek to evade or prevaricate and quibble in their answers.

Who has killed more innocent people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar? Who has more blood, including children’s blood, on his hands, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar? Who has inflicted more terror, suffering and death upon innocent people, Shimon Peres or Samir Kuntar?

If honesty is to be the ultimate arbiter among men, then one can’t escape the inescapable conclusion that it is mass murderers like Peres, Ariel Sharon and other Israeli leaders, dead or living, who really need forgiveness for their horrible crimes against humanity.

In fact, Israelis should be reminded on this occasion that a Presidential post, a business suit with a necktie, and the ability to speak eloquent sound-bites in several languages and have audience with statesmen and VIPs from around the world, doesn’t really transform a criminal into a true human being.

A criminal is a criminal especially if he refuses to come to terms with his crimes and if he refuses to apologize to his victims. Needless to say, Peres has done neither.

But then criminals are not concerned about their sins.

One elderly Israeli woman interviewed by the Ha’aretz newspaper lashed out at Hezbollah for having refused until the very last moment to tell if the two Israeli prisoners were dead or alive.

“It’s the saddest day for Israel. They kept us waiting until the last second to learn the fate of our sons,” the woman was quoted as saying.

I certainly sympathize with the woman at the personal level. However, I would want to ask the Jewish lady why she thought that Jewish lives were worth more than non-Jewish lives?

I also would like to ask her what she would tell the mothers, families and relatives of thousands of Arab prisoners who have been languishing in Israel’s dark, underground dungeons since 1967?

We are talking about POWs and MIAs and other ordinary people whose families have no way of knowing if their beloved ones are dead or alive. Aren’t these “forgotten prisoners” human beings, too? Are they children of a lesser God?

Unfortunately, most Israelis, thoroughly self-absorbed and self-centered, don’t like to be asked such questions lest their superiority complexes and collective psychosis be exposed.

Finally, the latest prisoner swap shows that Israel only understands the language of cold realpolitik which is by definition immoral and coercive.

For Palestinians, who have more than 10,000 of their beloved ones languishing in Israeli concentration camps, the message is very clear: If you want to get Israel to release your beloved ones, take Israeli hostages and swap them for the Palestinian captives.

Khalid Amayreh is a journalist based in the Occupied Palestinian town of Dura.

Samir Kintar's biography according to Al-Manar TV

This is how the website of Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV presented Samir Kintar (himself a member of the Palestine Liberation Front and *not* of Hezbollah):

In a world full of conflicts and atrocities, heroes are rare to find, but wherever they are found, they just seem to impose themselves and their values.

One of those heroes is Samir Kintar who returns to Lebanon after spending thirty years in Israeli prisons, thus earning the title of the longest held Lebanese detainee in the Zionist entity. Yet, the thirty years he spent in jail couldn't change "one iota" of Kintar's beliefs and values.

The man who turned out to be a symbol for freedom in the world was born in Aabey on July 20, 1962. He studied in the town school and was distinguished by his bravery, his great enthusiasm and patriotism ever since he was a little child. Some of his many friends said that he had even written, once, under his picture "Samir Kintar the MARTYR."

Kintar participated in the armed resistance against the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978, as well as in aiding the citizens who were forced to leave their towns and villages under heavy Israeli bombardment. He attempted to carry out a military operation against the Israeli enemy forces in June 1978, through Jordan, but the mission was aborted for military reasons. After one month, Samir went back to Jordan to carry another operation against Israeli forces but he was captured by Jordanian authorities. As a result, he was imprisoned in Jordan for eight months from January 31 until December 25.

Kintar’s eight months of imprisonment in an Arab jail did not kill his wish to combat oppression and occupation.

Months after his release, the brave teenager carried out an operation dubbed "The Nasser Operation" after Egyptian leader Jamal Abdul Nasser. The operation centered on Naharya settlement and was executed on April 22, 1979. Kintar was leading the group which included Abdel Majeed Asslan (born in 1955), Mhanna Salim Al Muayed (born in 1960) and Ahmad Al Abrass (born in 1949).

The group departed from the seashore of Tyre in south Lebanon using a 55 horse-powered rubber boat with an 88 km/hr speed. The goal of the operation was reaching Naharya where a military base is located, 10KM away from the Lebanese borders, in an attempt to capture Israeli soldiers and later exchange them by Arab detainees in Israeli prisons.

For the Israelis, reaching Naharya without carrying out any attack was in itself a dangerous precedent that also gave Kintar and his comrades their medals of honor.
Kintar amazingly maneuvered his motor boat through sixth squadrons of warships then hid the boat right – under the noses of the Israeli seashore guards and radar; and then managed to enter the settlement, after combating an Israeli patrol squad.

Kintar and his colleagues reached the seashore of military settlement of Naharya that in addition to the military base, had a police center, a military academy, the coastal guards and artillery, the naval alarm network and the head quarters for the Israeli warships (Chairborg).

The group stormed into “building 61” in Jabootinsk and split into two units combating a police patrol. Israeli sergeant (Elyaho Shahar) from the Maalot settlement was killed. In addition, Kintar’s group was able to capture Israeli atomic scientist Dan Harn.

At the end of the battle, Kintar and his comrades were down either dead or injured. Abdul Majeed Asslan got martyred and Mhanna Al Muayed was seriously wounded in head and later died. As for Samir, he was hit by five bullets all over his body as he mentioned in one of his letters; he was under fire from all directions “that even the two hostages who were with me were killed in the crossfire.” Having fell to the ground and became unable to move, Kantar and his colleague Ahmad Al Abrass were captured by Israeli forces but later on, in 1985, Ahmed Al-Abras was released in a prisoners exchange deal. However, the result of this operation was the death of six Israelis including Dan Haran, in addition to 12 injuries.

Samir's sufferings and agony began right after his imprisonment when he was taken to the Israeli Intelligence headquarters where the interrogation started.

In describing the torment, Kintar once wrote that if he was to describe what he was subject to, “it would be beyond people's apprehension.” He said: ''I was crucified on a wall without clothes, then the soldiers began to punch me. I remained under the sun many days standing, my hands were cuffed and, my head was covered by black bad smelling bags. Samir added: ''But the most severe thing was when they began to excise the bullets without anesthesia, at a time they forced me not get out my pain… They kept me held in a closed dark cell.''

Kintar was transferred to more than one Israeli prison .The first was Atleet in 1980, three years later Samir was moved to Bir Al-Sabaa central prison, a year later, he was transferred again to Kfariouna Komoud prison , afterwards he was held at the Nafha prison in the Nakab (Nagev) Desert. In 1989 Kintar was taken to the Askalan (Ashkelon) and then back to Nafha in in 1987.

In prison or outside, Kintar has acted as the fighter and the revolutionist that he is. To him, the detention camp was just another place for struggle and resistance.
Kintar became a symbol for freedom in the world, and April 22, the day of his detention, has become a day for solidarity among Arab and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers and the people who call for democracy and conscience all over the world.

Today, the Lebanese hero returns to his homeland to mark another victory for the resistance against the Israeli enemy…
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Commentary: I take no position on whether Samir Kintar did, or did not, kill a 4 year old Israeli girl. I was not there and I have no reason to trust the official Israeli account. I know that in 1979 there were plenty of horrible murders committed by all sides to the conflict and I know that a gunshot wound to the head does not look like the blunt impact which a rifle butt would leave. However, I also know that if the Israelis screwed up their rescue operation and killed their hostages (as Kintar claims) they would have a huge stake in blaming it all on Kintar. Here is how, according to Wikipedia, the Isareli newspaper Maariv described the murder:

After drowning Danny in the sea in front of Einat (as Ahmed Al-Brass, Mhanna Salim Al-Muayed, and Abdel Majeed Asslan served as look outs and backup cover for Kuntar), Kuntar turned his attention towards the 4 year-old. He took his rifle and then swung it across the toddler's head, knocking her to the ground. Kuntar then dragged the toddler a couple of feet to the closest rock he could find and laid her head down on a rock, with the intention of crushing it with the butt of his rifle. Einat, instinctively covered her head with her arms, Kuntar struggled with the toddler until he finally managed to clear her arms out of the way. Once her arms were out of the way, Kuntar repeatedly beat her on the head with the butt of his rifle and stomping on her body, until blood rushed out of her ears and mouth. Then, to ensure she was dead, Kuntar continued beating her over the head until her skull was crushed and she was dead.

Keep in mind that all this supposedly happened during a shootout with Israeli policemen and soldiers. Here is, again, Hezbollah's version of what happened:

As for Samir, he was hit by five bullets all over his body as he mentioned in one of his letters; he was under fire from all directions “that even the two hostages who were with me were killed in the crossfire.”

We will probably never know what really happened that day. But at least we should be able to compare the two versions of the events.