Bush, Sharon Pressed on Israeli MIA Issue
Bush, Sharon Pressed on Israeli MIA Issue
If thirty US Senators have their way, President George W. Bush will make sure he agrees to help visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon locate Israel’s MIA’s.
In a united effort to draw attention to the plight of four Israelis kidnapped last fall by Hizb’Allah, 30 US senators asked Bush to make securing their release a “high priority” in his dealings with Middle Eastern countries. In a letter to Bush, they demanded that when formulating policy toward countries and entities including Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority, Bush should “take into account their willingness to help in securing the return” of three Israeli soldiers and an Israeli businessman captured by Hizb’Allah in October. The senators also call on Bush to flex diplomatic muscle to secure information regarding the three Israeli MIAs who were captured in Lebanon in 1982, including Zachary Baumel, a US citizen.
Ahead of Sharon’s visit this week, Bush made his first phone call to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad last Friday, but it was not clear whether he raised the issues of the Israeli hostages and Syria’s increased support for Hizb’Allah.
On Friday morning, Sharon met with the families of the three recently kidnapped soldiers at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, and told them there was no new information in the case. The families told the prime minister that Israel must “take extraordinary measures to bring the boys home.” Their request to join Sharon on his visit to the US, however, was rejected.
After the meeting, the parents said they were impressed by Sharon’s openness and seriousness regarding the issue. The parents reported that Sharon said that negotiations between Israel and Hizb’Allah through German mediators was continuing, and that Israel must now respond to issues raised by the Shi’ite militia during the talks.
The father of one MIA said “there is more openness on the part of the current team, Sharon and Major General Ilan Biran, to keep us in the loop.” The families expressed disappointment what they felt were efforts by former prime minister Ehud Barak to mislead them about developments concerning the fate of their sons.
The families then met on Sunday evening with Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who flatly rejected a legal petition demanding the release of Lebanese militia leaders Mustafa Dirani and Sheik Abdel-Karim Obeid. A Tel Aviv District Court has given him 30 days to decide whether to amend government policy on keeping them as “bargaining chips” for the MIAs. Ben-Eliezer has quickly instructed military lawyers to inform the court the Defense Ministry’s official position has not changed on keeping the two terrorist leaders in custody.
Used with Permission from International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.