The Cabinet has ratified the prisoner exchange with Hezbollah. The reason most commonly given was to ease the minds of the Goldwasser and Regev families, and the mind of every mother whose son serves.
This decision was made in spite of the fact that heads of the intelligence community were opposed because the report on Arad was insufficient.
Shimon Peres, as president, will now pardon the prisoners to be returned to Hezbollah, including Samir Kuntar.
The actual exchange will take place tomorrow at 9:00 AM at the Rosh Hanikra crossing.
Hezbollah has set up a “triumphal arch” near the crossing and hung flags and photos along the highway. Massive celebrations and a “victory” speech by Nasrallah are planned.
Here, the IDF is planning military funerals on Thursday for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
How do we swallow this?
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Meanwhile, it has been reported that Hezbollah , with the assistance of the Syrian and Iranian military, has set up radar installations on Mt. Sannine — 2,600 meters above sea level — in Lebanon’s Beka Valley in central Lebanon, in order to track Israel’s planes. Analysts are assuming that this would be utilized in conjunction with air defense systems supplied by Syria.
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Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, has vociferously objected to Olmert’s promise to Abbas to release more Palestinian prisoners, when Gilad is still being held prisoner.
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Yesterday was Bastille Day — French Independence Day. And who did French president Sarkozy choose to honor at those celebrations by making him a special guest who sat beside him? None other than Bashar Assad.
Reports are that a planned protest by French veterans who hold Syria responsible for the deaths of 58 French members of a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon in 1983 was blocked by the French government.
Sarkozy claims to have good motivation for what he is doing in cultivating Assad. But this smacks of appeasement and willful disregard of all that Syria has been involved in of late. It does not speak well for Sarkozy.
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Tony Blair was supposed to visit Gaza , but his visit has been cancelled because of specific threats.
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Hopefully more soon on Lebanon…
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