2004 Prisoner Swap: Exemplary Perseverance
The people in Beirut's Southern Suburbs on that Thursday morning of January 29th 2004 seemed like they were preparing for the holidays. Many of them would soon see a loved one, but even those who had no relative or friend in "Israeli" jails were taking part in what seemed like preparations for a national holiday.
At that time, Lebanon was in one way or another going through a golden period. Lebanese southerners no longer had to worry about crossing over to their occupied villages, and the politicians were seemingly getting along.
However, "Israel" seemed to have always given Lebanon a reason to have to struggle. After the liberation of 2000, Hizbullah's outstanding leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had vowed openly and in closed meetings Hizbullah's keenness on freeing the tens of Lebanese who were imprisoned by "Israel" during the occupation.
The words of the Secretary General in an Ashoura procession saying: "We will not leave our prisoners in "Israeli" jails," were memorized almost naturally even by children in kindergarten. People believed the return of these prisoners was inevitable, especially after Hizbullah's resistance had managed to capture three "Israeli" soldiers at the southern border, and lure a former "Israeli" colonel who declared he had an intelligence mission in Lebanon.
Hizbullah achieved the kidnapping of the soldiers through a surprise operation at the southern border in October of 2000, and details of the operation were later released. The abduction of Al-Hanan Tenenbaum was announced around the same time, but was more mysterious, and seemed to prelude Hizbullah's growing intelligence competence.
Years of indirect negotiations took place through a German mediator. Hizbullah's leadership always insisted on freeing all the Lebanese prisoners and many Arab prisoners in addition to the bodies of hundreds of martyrs who died in the line of fire.
The images of Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid, and Hajj Mustafa Dirani in inmate uniforms on "Israeli" Televisions were aired often. Seeing a cleric abducted or treated as a prisoner angered many people in Lebanon. Sheikh Obeid was imprisoned merely for his sermons at the village mosque on the importance of fighting injustice and fighting occupation. Hajj Dirani was also known to be growing ill in prison.
The "Israelis" seemed to be adamant that they would not free Sheikh Obeid and Hajj Dirani whose detainment they linked to the missing "Israeli" pilot Ron Arad, nor would it free Samir Kuntar whose continued imprisonment would prove to be quite costly for "Israel".
Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid told moqawama.org that the 15 years he spent in "Israeli" jails only strengthened his faith in God and his perseverance.
"I knew that the strong belief of the fighters in the resistance, and the values they fought for would lead them to victory, and sometimes many of us felt that we were able to see our freedom with our own eyes, but it was more profound after the resistance captured three "Israeli" soldiers in 2000", he indicated.
Sheikh Obeid said that in one of the interviews conducted by an American journalist during his detainment, he was asked whether he changed his mind about "Israel". He pointed out that he was now "even more confident of his knowledge of the enemy." "Our notions of the state of "Israel" were authenticated after we were taken hostage. I knew that the so-called state of "Israel" was based on injustice and weakness. It was only the weakness of the Arabs that had made it look strong. When we fought for a just cause, we realized that we were much stronger than it ever will be", Sheikh Obeid stated.
"It was also evident that the resistance was growing in strength, and much more capable of enforcing its own conditions", Sheikh Obeid spoke with confidence.
The deal was finalized and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese awaited the return of the "Heroes". Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stood side by side with former President Emile Lahoud, the late former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri at the Beirut Airport Terminal to greet the freed prisoners. People sighed with relief and cheered as they saw Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid and Hajj Mustafa Dirani emerge from the plane along with 21 other Lebanese. Some 400 Palestinians were also released.
On this level, Sheikh Obeid expressed to moqawama.org how he felt after he got off that plane, "The indescribable feeling of true freedom began after I left the "Israeli" plane. I knew then that the years of "Israeli" oppression and the "Israelis" themselves were behind me, but it was even grander after we landed in Beirut and saw our families and friends. Maybe I can say it was an excellent feeling, but it's much more; there are no words to describe how I felt at that moment."
The freed bodies of the martyrs were handed over through the Lebanese southern border and were given proper burial ceremonies in the days that followed.
Many "Israelis" considered that such a prisoner exchange deal is a burden on "Israel" especially in light of its security policies inside occupied Palestine. Some even feared that it would encourage the Palestinians to follow Hizbullah's example.
Dr. Shmuel Bar, a senior research fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, said that "Israel" would be sorry since the message this swap sends to the Palestinians is that "the only way in which anyone can succeed in freeing prisoners is Hizbullah's way of abducting "Israeli" soldiers...."
"Thank God that we can see the impacts of the divine victory", Sheikh Obeid added to moqawama.org. "The latest prisoner swap between the Palestinians and "Israel" is a manifestation of the effectiveness of this method."Israel" received a slap on the face, and now it knows that it could not retrieve a prisoner that is kidnapped by the resistance except through negotiations", he reiterated.
The prisoner swap in January of 2004 was one of the pages in Lebanese history one can never forget. Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid stressed as the leaders of the resistance always have, "the time of victories had only begun, and that would never have been possible without God's divine guidance and assistance."
Source: moqawama.org
