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08-28-2006, 08:47 PM
IHT (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/28/news/nasrallah.php)
Hezbollah chief didn't think raid would lead to war
The Associated Press
Published: August 28, 2006
BEIRUT The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has said in a television interview that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers had he known that it would lead to such a war.
Guerrillas from Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group, killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two others in a cross-border raid on July 12, setting off 34 days of fighting that ended with a cease-fire on Aug. 14.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," Nasrallah told New TV of Lebanon in an interview that was aired Sunday. Asked if he would have ordered the operation if he had known on July 11 that it would lead to such a war, Nasrallah answered: "No, absolutely not."
Nasrallah also said Italy and the United Nations had sought to mediate a prisoner swap with Israel, but he did not specify whether they had contacted Hezbollah directly.
Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, had been in charge of the negotiations, Nasrallah said, and the subject would be discussed during the visit to Beirut of Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, who arrived Monday.
Nasrallah said that the Israelis had acknowledged that an exchange of prisoners was headed toward the negotiation stage. A senior Israeli government official, however, declined to comment on such an approach, saying only that Israel did "not negotiate with terrorists" and that it continued to demand the unconditional release of its two soldiers.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Shimon Peres, deputy prime minister of Israel, said Sunday that no negotiations were being held on prisoner releases. "Right now, no," Peres said. "But I expect that concerning the prisoners in the north, we shall have to wait until the Lebanese government will take charge completely over its land in accordance with the UN resolution," he said, referring to Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war.
Israeli military officials have said that Israel was holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers, but that it would not include any Palestinian prisoners in such a deal.
BEIRUT The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has said in a television interview that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers had he known that it would lead to such a war.
Guerrillas from Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group, killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two others in a cross-border raid on July 12, setting off 34 days of fighting that ended with a cease-fire on Aug. 14.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," Nasrallah told New TV of Lebanon in an interview that was aired Sunday. Asked if he would have ordered the operation if he had known on July 11 that it would lead to such a war, Nasrallah answered: "No, absolutely not."
Nasrallah also said Italy and the United Nations had sought to mediate a prisoner swap with Israel, but he did not specify whether they had contacted Hezbollah directly.
Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, had been in charge of the negotiations, Nasrallah said, and the subject would be discussed during the visit to Beirut of Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, who arrived Monday.
Nasrallah said that the Israelis had acknowledged that an exchange of prisoners was headed toward the negotiation stage. A senior Israeli government official, however, declined to comment on such an approach, saying only that Israel did "not negotiate with terrorists" and that it continued to demand the unconditional release of its two soldiers.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Shimon Peres, deputy prime minister of Israel, said Sunday that no negotiations were being held on prisoner releases. "Right now, no," Peres said. "But I expect that concerning the prisoners in the north, we shall have to wait until the Lebanese government will take charge completely over its land in accordance with the UN resolution," he said, referring to Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war.
Israeli military officials have said that Israel was holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers, but that it would not include any Palestinian prisoners in such a deal.
Hezbollah chief didn't think raid would lead to war
The Associated Press
Published: August 28, 2006
BEIRUT The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has said in a television interview that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers had he known that it would lead to such a war.
Guerrillas from Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group, killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two others in a cross-border raid on July 12, setting off 34 days of fighting that ended with a cease-fire on Aug. 14.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," Nasrallah told New TV of Lebanon in an interview that was aired Sunday. Asked if he would have ordered the operation if he had known on July 11 that it would lead to such a war, Nasrallah answered: "No, absolutely not."
Nasrallah also said Italy and the United Nations had sought to mediate a prisoner swap with Israel, but he did not specify whether they had contacted Hezbollah directly.
Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, had been in charge of the negotiations, Nasrallah said, and the subject would be discussed during the visit to Beirut of Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, who arrived Monday.
Nasrallah said that the Israelis had acknowledged that an exchange of prisoners was headed toward the negotiation stage. A senior Israeli government official, however, declined to comment on such an approach, saying only that Israel did "not negotiate with terrorists" and that it continued to demand the unconditional release of its two soldiers.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Shimon Peres, deputy prime minister of Israel, said Sunday that no negotiations were being held on prisoner releases. "Right now, no," Peres said. "But I expect that concerning the prisoners in the north, we shall have to wait until the Lebanese government will take charge completely over its land in accordance with the UN resolution," he said, referring to Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war.
Israeli military officials have said that Israel was holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers, but that it would not include any Palestinian prisoners in such a deal.
BEIRUT The leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has said in a television interview that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers had he known that it would lead to such a war.
Guerrillas from Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group, killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two others in a cross-border raid on July 12, setting off 34 days of fighting that ended with a cease-fire on Aug. 14.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," Nasrallah told New TV of Lebanon in an interview that was aired Sunday. Asked if he would have ordered the operation if he had known on July 11 that it would lead to such a war, Nasrallah answered: "No, absolutely not."
Nasrallah also said Italy and the United Nations had sought to mediate a prisoner swap with Israel, but he did not specify whether they had contacted Hezbollah directly.
Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, had been in charge of the negotiations, Nasrallah said, and the subject would be discussed during the visit to Beirut of Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, who arrived Monday.
Nasrallah said that the Israelis had acknowledged that an exchange of prisoners was headed toward the negotiation stage. A senior Israeli government official, however, declined to comment on such an approach, saying only that Israel did "not negotiate with terrorists" and that it continued to demand the unconditional release of its two soldiers.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Shimon Peres, deputy prime minister of Israel, said Sunday that no negotiations were being held on prisoner releases. "Right now, no," Peres said. "But I expect that concerning the prisoners in the north, we shall have to wait until the Lebanese government will take charge completely over its land in accordance with the UN resolution," he said, referring to Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war.
Israeli military officials have said that Israel was holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers, but that it would not include any Palestinian prisoners in such a deal.