Lebanon's Hezbollah Captures Israeli Colonel http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/15/world/15WIRE-SOLDIER.html October 15, 2000 By REUTERS BEIRUT, Oct. 15 -- Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Sunday it had seized an Israeli colonel in a "complex security operation" eight days after it captured three Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon. "With God's help, I am honored to inform you gladly that the Islamic Resistance performed a qualitative and complex security operation, capturing an Israeli colonel, who works for an Israeli security apparatus," Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah announced at a conference in Beirut amid applause. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told his cabinet he knew of no missing soldier and he was checking the report further. Israel's army chief, Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, said he could not confirm or deny Hezbollah's claim, saying no Israeli soldier had been seized at the border with Lebanon since three of his men were captured on October 7. But he told reporters: "It could very well be that if an incident such as this did take place, it was in another channel and not by way of the northern border of the state of Israel. "So I cannot be a messenger in the sense that I can deny this news and together with that I cannot verify it for the moment until all of the other channels have been checked." The diplomatic correspondent of Israel's Channel Two television quoted senior Israeli political sources as saying "there is something behind the dramatic announcement of Nasrallah." In a later report, the station said Israel believed the man to whom the Hezbollah chief referred could be an Israeli businessman living in Europe. Channel Two said the person being held was not in the military at present but could be a reserve officer. Israeli Cabinet Secretary Yitzhak Herzog declined comment on the report. The Hezbollah statement overshadowed a U.S.-sponsored summit between Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat set to open in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to end unrest that has threatened Middle East peacemaking. ISRAELI GUNSHIPS OFF S.LEBANON COAST Shortly after Hezbollah's announcement, a Reuter correspondent saw three Israeli gunships in the sea off the border area of Naqoura in south Lebanon. They did not fire. Hezbollah captured three Israeli soldiers on October 7 in an ambush on the Israeli-Lebanese border, sparking a brief exchange of fire. Both Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been on alert since then. Hezbollah, which led a guerrilla campaign that ended Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May, refused to give further details. Lebanese officials were taken by surprise. "We will announce later the appropriate details at the appropriate time. We will leave them to search for him, for his name, for his tale," Nasrallah told the meeting in a speech broadcast live on Hezbollah al-Manar television. The Shi'ite Muslim cleric dedicated the new capture to the Palestinians who have been confronting Israeli forces in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and other Arab towns in Israel for 18 days. At least 100 people, mostly Arabs, have been killed. "I declare our second dedication to the people of the al-Aqsa (mosque) uprising, to its martyrs, to every prisoner and detainee in the enemy prisons and to the families of the prisoners and detainees who hope and live awaiting the day they will be reunited with their beloved one." The Beirut conference, on "Arab and Islamic Nationalism," was attended by Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss as well as Islamist and Palestinian leaders, including Hamas. Addressing Hoss, Nasrallah said jokingly: "God will help the prime minister for the many phone calls he will get from (U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine) Albright." Reuters correspondents and security sources in south Lebanon said the border was quiet on Sunday. There have been no reports of security breaches along the border over the past few days. A number of international envoys, including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have visited Lebanon since the capture of the Israeli soldiers in an attempt to mediate between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah has said it wants to exchange the three Israeli captives for hundreds of Lebanese and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. The group has refused to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or the U.N. access to them. The New York Times on the Web http://www.nytimes.com /-----------------------------------------------------------------\
