Daily Star - Al Akhbar says it has a picture of the remains of Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah - January 22, 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Al-Akhbar says it has photos of Israeli soldiers' remains held by Hizbullah
Compiled by Daily Star staff


Local newspaper Al-Akhbar said on Monday that it had in its possession pictures showing the remains of Israeli soldiers, two days after Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that his group was holding body parts from troops killed in the summer 2006 war with the Jewish state.

The newspaper, which is considered close to Hizbullah, also published a photo of what it said was a military dog-tag of an Israeli soldier killed during the 2006 war.

The picture in Al-Akhbar showed a chain and a dog-tag with Hebrew writing which it said belonged to Israeli soldier Ron Masshih whose remains were left on the battlefield.

"Your army left behind the remains of soldiers in our villages and fields," Nasrallah, addressing Israelis during a speech to tens of thousands of Shiites taking part in commemorations marking Ashura on Saturday.

"They [the Israeli Army] were so weak on the field that they left behind remains not of one, two or three but a large number of your soldiers," he added.

"One body is almost complete," Nasrallah said. "What did the [Israeli A]rmy say to the family of these soldiers and what remains did they give them?" the sayyed asked.

Israeli military officials on Sunday confirmed that Hizbullah has body parts of Israeli soldiers from 2006. The Israeli daily Haaretz on Sunday quoted military officials as saying they believed "the remains of about 10 soldiers were involved."

Al-Akhbar said it would not publish the pictures "for humanitarian reasons."

In separate developments, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's account of the incidents preceding the last Israeli Army ground operation of the summer 2006 war.

Bolton told Haaretz newspaper that the final Israeli Army operation, during which soldiers were ordered to proceed and take up positions along the Litani River, did not factor into the discussions finalizing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the fighting.

Bolton, who is currently in Israel to take part in the Herzliya Conference on policy and strategy, said that a US-French draft resolution drawn up on August 5, 2006 - six days before the final UN resolution was passed - was better for Israel, but required amending in order to secure the agreement of the Lebanese government.

The wording of the final agreement, Bolton said, was reached following constant deliberations, which lasted a week. The former envoy rejected Olmert's claim that Israel was displeased by the resolution that preceded the final draft, which Israeli officials received on the morning of August 11. In fact, Bolton said, the last week of the war saw a gradual retreat from a draft less amenable to Israel.

Bolton said that the United Nations negotiations in New York were not affected by the events on the ground. Olmert and then-Defense Minister Amir Peretz justified the final ground offensive, which claimed the lives of 33 Israeli soldiers, on the basis of the claim of major differences between the various versions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Bolton also said that the United States changed its position due the shifting opinions of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He said that after the Israel Air Force strike on the Lebanese town of Qana, which killed dozens of civilians, Rice retreated from her wish to reach a decision that would markedly alter the status quo in the region, and instead pursued a decision that would only secure a cease-fire.

The former envoy also said that portions of Resolution 1701 still have not been implemented, and that Hizbullah still constitutes a threat to Israel and to the government of Lebanon. - Agencies