Israel Says No to Prisoner-Hostage Exchange

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir refused Monday to consider releasing Arab prisoners held by Israel in exchange for American hostages in Lebanon, as demanded by a terrorist group in Beirut.

“I don’t think we can even consider this,” Shamir told reporters when asked to respond to the demand by an underground group calling itself Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine.

The group threatened Saturday to kill four hostages, three Americans and an Indian-born U.S. resident, unless Israel agrees within a week to free 400 Arab prisoners.

“I don’t think the Americans will ask us to do something about this,” Shamir said.

Earlier, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin had also dismissed the proposal, saying, “It’s hard for me to see Israel becoming an international prisoner bank, so that any terrorist organization which so desires could tomorrow kidnap Americans or Germans, while the quid pro quo is those who are captured as terrorists and are imprisoned in Israel.”

Not Out of the Question

However, a senior Israeli political figure cautioned that Shamir’s and Rabin’s statements should not necessarily be taken to mean that the idea of a prisoners-for-hostages swap is out of the question.

“Our friends the South Lebanon Army hold hundreds of prisoners in southern Lebanon,” he said, “and if they agreed to such an exchange, it would be their decision and not strictly Israel’s, so we would not bear the responsibility of freeing terrorists in exchange for the hostages.”

The South Lebanon Army is a Christian-led militia trained and supported--and directed, many believe--by Israel in an effort to protect its northern border with Lebanon. In 1985, hundreds of prisoners held by the South Lebanon Army were freed immediately after the release of 39 Americans who had been held as hostages in Lebanon in the hijacking of a Trans World Airlines jet. It was widely reported that the prisoner release was at Israel’s instigation following a U.S. request. In previous years, Israel released many hundreds of Palestinian and other Arab prisoners in exchange for small numbers of Israelis being held in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials privately confirmed Monday that there have been contacts between Israel and the United States concerning the hostages in Lebanon, but none of them would disclose any details.