Swap Must Include 3 Israelis, Rabin Says : Defense Minister Rejects Any Hostage Deal That Omits Soldiers

Israel will not free Shiite Muslim leader Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid unless three captive Israeli soldiers are included in any hostage exchange deal negotiated with Shiite militants, Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said Sunday.

Rabin, rejecting any suggestion of a partial hostage exchange, said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the release of the three Israeli soldiers is the “first priority” to be achieved in negotiations with their Lebanese captors.

Rabin’s statement reflected Israel’s announced position since it sent commandos into southern Lebanon July 28 to seize Obeid: The operation’s specific aim was to gain leverage to bargain for the freedom of the three Israelis.

Rabin was interviewed shortly before the Revolutionary Justice Organization, a radical Shiite group, announced in Beirut that it would free American hostage Joseph J. Cicippio if Israel released Obeid and 450 other Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners. The announcement contained no mention of the three Israeli soldiers or any other foreign hostages held in Lebanon.

No Separation

“We will not separate anything,” Rabin said when asked if Israel would consider a partial hostage exchange.

“No doubt, our first priority are the Israelis,” he added in a satellite interview from Jerusalem. “I think that the most difficult part of any exchange to Hezbollah would be to give us the Israelis. It will be easier for them to (release) the Americans. . . . Our proposal is all” of the hostages.

Rabin also said that a quick end to the hostage crisis is unlikely. “One has to have strong nerves and patience,” he said. “We (Israel) learned the hard way. . . . It takes time, (and you can’t be) aroused by any piece of information.”

In a separate televised interview, Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens defended Israel’s abduction of Obeid, a leader of the Hezbollah (Party of God) organization in southern Lebanon. He said that the sheik is an “important card” to be played in securing the eventual release of U.S. hostages held in Lebanon.

Arens, who also spoke before the Revolutionary Justice Organization proposed the partial hostage exchange, asserted on ABC’s “This Week with David Brinkley” that Obeid’s capture had made an exchange possible.

Not a Faceless Soldier

“Sheik Obeid is not one of the faceless soldiers in the Party of God, but evidently a person of some importance in that band of criminals,” Arens said. “We seem to be holding an important card which may make it possible, we hope, to release all of the hostages--Israelis and non-Israelis.”

Secretary of State James A. Baker III, aboard his Air Force jet en route to a meeting in Mexico City, reaffirmed Sunday that the United States will not negotiate with Cicippio’s captors, but he added that the Bush Administration will not object to Israeli attempts to arrange a swap.

“Consulting with a country that pursues a policy of negotiation is not tantamount to negotiating yourself,” Baker told reporters. “The well-established policy of the United States is that we don’t negotiate with terrorists--because we believe that if the United States were to get into that game, we’d simply see a lot more Americans taken hostage around the world.”

At the same time, he said: “We cannot concur in nor object to Israel pursuing its own policy. They are, after all, a separate, sovereign nation.”

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) softened his earlier criticism of the Israeli action, and Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) said that Israel is justified in pursuing its own national interest without consulting allies. The two senators were interviewed on the same ABC program as Arens.

On the Senate floor last week, Dole charged that the seizure of Obeid had needlessly jeopardized the lives of hostages. In his televised comments Sunday, he denied that he is seeking to “drive a wedge” between Washington and Jerusalem but said that the two nations “need to have a united front against terrorism.”

Mitchell supported Israel’s independent action. “Each nation ultimately acts out of what it defines as its self-interest,” he said. “We do that, we should do that and we must expect nothing less” from Israel.

Praises for Bush

Both Senate leaders praised President Bush’s handling of the hostage situation and pledged their support even if he should deem military force necessary to resolve the crisis. Mitchell said the United States would have “absolutely no credibility” without the option of armed power.

Dole and Mitchell also commended the Administration for making it clear that the new Iranian government of President Hashemi Rafsanjani, as well as Syria, must accept responsibility for allowing terrorists to operate with impunity in Lebanon.

Another voice in support of Israel’s hard line came from former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, also interviewed on the ABC program. Kissinger said that “we have to devalue the hostages,” despite possible public demand for their return at any price.

“The tone of our message should be that the party is over as far as hostages are concerned, that the United States will not let itself get jerked around every year or every six months by threats of murder,” Kissinger said.

Times staff writer Doyle McManus contributed to this report.