German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will arrive in Lebanon Tuesday to hold top level talks and meet with the secretary general of the Hizbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, suggesting that a prisoner swap may be imminent, according to a Monday report by the Beirut-based Daily Star.
A political source told the paper that the main issue for discussion was Germany’s plan to repatriate 13,000 Lebanese nationals who arrived there during the 15-year civil war.
“Germany considers it time for those Lebanese to return to their country and is now hoping to set in motion the repatriation process,” the source said.
International developments following the September 11 attacks against the United States and America’s new “war against terror” will also be major topics of discussion, he said.
The source said government officials will make clear their stance on the importance of distinguishing between terrorism and resistance against occupation.
“Resistance has led to almost full liberation except for the occupied Shebaa Farms, thus compelling Hizbollah to carry out attacks against Israeli posts and to capture three soldiers and one Israeli intelligence officer in Beirut,” the source said.
The source said Fischer would discuss with Nasrallah a possible swap of the Israeli prisoners held by the movement since last October for Lebanese prisoners detained in Israeli jails for periods of up to 22 years.
Nasrallah hinted Friday that a deal to swap the four Israelis for Lebanese and Arab detainees was reaching the final stage of negotiations, with just the numbers of Palestinian prisoners to be included in the deal remaining to be resolved, the paper said.
The source explained that Fischer’s visit to Nasrallah comes following 11 months of a German intelligence team’s monitoring of the Hizbollah-Israeli negotiations.
Germany secured prisoner swaps between Hizbollah and Israel in 1996 and 1999, and the source said it once again intends to successfully negotiate the release of the prisoners.
Meanwhile, Lebanon is expected to emerge again in the international arena, with another Western official also visiting this week, according to the source.
William Burns, the US assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, will tour the region, including Lebanon, to gather support for America’s “war against terrorism,” the paper added.
The source said Burns would discuss views on the possible war with regional officials.
“He wants to know how the states in the region are responding to the American suggestions and hear from Lebanese and Arab officials about any reservations which they may have regarding this issue,” the source said.
According to the source, Lebanese reservations mainly focus on the manner in which fighting “terrorism” would take place.
“Lebanon does not want fighting terrorism to take the form of a clash between civilizations, nor does it want the fight to give the Israelis the opportunity to use the Zionist lobby’s power over media institutions in America to propagate” anti-Arab sentiment.
Lebanon is recovering from decades of civil war, as well as an Israeli military occupation that left behind minefields, ruined infrastructure and countless orphans.
The source also said: “Lebanon will stress that fighting terrorism should fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations and that there should be a clear distinction between terrorism and resistance trying to restore occupied land (to its rightful owners).”
The source added that Lebanon was encouraging a unified Arab and Islamic stand regarding the fight against “terrorism.”
Burns’ tour will start in Cairo and is expected to last two weeks – Albawaba.com
