The Lebanese Hizbollah movement said Saturday that it had a videotape documenting the organization's kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers from the occupied Shabaa Farms last October, said reports.
According to Haaretz newspaper, Israeli security sources were not surprised by the announcement, as Hizbollah has documented a number of its attacks against Israeli army targets in the past.
These sources view the announcement as part of Hizbollah's campaign to “create confusion concerning the fate of the kidnap victims.”
The organization has refused to provide any information on the condition of the three soldiers.
The United Nations admitted earlier this month that its peacekeeping force in south Lebanon made a videotape several hours after the kidnapping took place, showing vehicles used by Hizbollah in the operation.
Israel is demanding an unedited version of this tape, while the UN is only willing to show an edited version in which the faces of those filmed are blurred.
Israeli security officials suggested that Hizbollah's announcement may be intended to signal that “it has a copy of the controversial UN tape (or one like it) and would be ready to negotiate with Israel over it.”
There has been some speculation that the Indian contingent in the UN peacekeeping force collaborated with Hizbollah in kidnapping the Israeli soldiers.
But India said on Friday that these claims were "neither substantiated nor confirmed."
Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio Saturday that Israel was not accusing India in this affair.
He expects to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on this issue during an upcoming visit to the United States scheduled to begin at the end of the week, said Haaretz.
The UN said on Friday that it would include allegations of collaboration with Hizbollah in an investigation into the handling of the UN videotape – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
