Opinion | Editorials
Prisoners' swap is a victory for Hezbollah
Today's exchange of prisoners between Hezbollah and Israel is significant. It proves that the movement is well-established and cannot be ignored.
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:39 July 15, 2008
Today's exchange of prisoners between Hezbollah and Israel is significant. It not only highlights the means through which practical results are achieved, but also that certain powers in the region cannot be ignored or sidelined.
According to the high-profile swap, Hezbollah agreed to hand over two soldiers who were captured two years ago in a cross-border raid.
In return, Israel is freeing five Lebanese prisoners, one of whom is the longest serving Arab prisoner - Samir Kantar - who has been in jail for almost three decades.
Kantar, after his capture, received multiple jail sentences, which amounted to over 500 years of prison term.
In the German-led mediation, Israel also agreed to hand over the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters who had infiltrated its borders over the years.
But besides the ramification of releasing the longest serving prisoner from an Israeli jail, the exchange comes as an unquestionable win for Hezbollah.
It proves the fact that the movement was able to succeed where the government had failed.
Hezbollah's delivery of an outcome was achieved through a tactful strategy that ensured Israel's bitter defeat in the war that it waged against Lebanon in 2006.
And this fact highlights an important reality - that Hezbollah is a well-established and active force in Lebanon and the region, and hence cannot be ignored or sidelined.
The best approach perhaps is to build bridges of communication rather than seeking plans for its destruction.
Most important of all is that the exchange has brought the prisoners' file to a closure.
Therefore, if one problem could be resolved in such a manner, then other outstanding issues could also find a solution.
The prisoners' exchange has paved the way for other areas to be addressed and vigorously pursued in search of a final outcome.
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