Brothers of policeman killed by Kuntar appeal court, again
With cabinet preparing for final vote on prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah, relatives of slain police officer Eliyahu Shahar once again petition High Court in eleventh hour bid to prevent release of Samir Kuntar
The relatives of policeman Eliyahu Shahar, who was murdered by Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar during a cross-border raid on Nahariya in 1979, again petitioned the High Court of Justice on Tuesday morning against the imminent prisoner exchange deal, despite the court’s rejection of a similar plea last week.
In their petition the Shahar brothers assert that they must be allowed to make their case before the cabinet ministers prior to the vote. If all believe captive soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev to be dead, the family says, it is inconceivable to exchange living prisoners for corpses.
They also claim Hizbullah failed to fulfill its commitment to provide Israel with a comprehensive report regarding the fate of MIA navigator Ron Arad.
Also party to the petition are bereaved parents of soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War and the Almagor organization for victims of terror.
"The release of terrorists simply is not justified under these circumstances, as there has been no sign of life from the captives. The government's working assumption is that they are no longer alive, and therefore freeing living terrorists for bodies isn't reasonable," the family said.
Eliyahu's brother, Yoram Shahar said on Monday evening that "even if I can only delay the release by an hour – I'll do it."
Arad report 'insufficient'
The deal with Hizbullah was agreed upon in principal by the government about two weeks ago, but was conditioned on receiving a final report from the Lebanese organization, with further details about missing navigator Ron Arad, whose whereabouts have remained unknown since 1988, two years after his capture.The report obtained from Hizbullah included Arad’s photos and journal – but was deemed by the defense establishment ‘insufficient.”
Another stage in the anticipated swap deal included Sunday’s publication by the Israel Prison Service of the list of five Lebanese prisoners kept in Israel, who are due to be released in the coming days, including the notorious Samir Kuntar who murdered Eliyahu and three of the Haran family members. The list is meant to enable civilians who wish to petition the court against the prisoners’ release – to do so.
The Shahar family is considering the option, and met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni late Monday to discuss the possibility. Yoram Shahar said that Livni willingly agreed to meet with them and asked them why they’d waited so long.
The family members asked Livni to vote against Kuntar's release during Tuesday's cabinet meeting, and claimed that no other government minister had agreed to meet with them. Livni is expected, however, to stick to her decision to support the swap deal.
“I will do everything, anything in my power to prevent that murderer Samir Kuntar’s release,” Shahar told Ynet. “It’s time everyone understood that Kuntar’s release is an issue that pertains to the country’s security and not just me personally. This is a problem that should be important to every household in Israel.”
Despite the rejection of his previous plea, Shahar said: “I believe in the final outcome and I will do everything to stop his (Kuntar’s) release.”
Last week, soldiers from the Engineering Corps as well as 100 men from the Military Rabbinate began the process of exhuming the terrorists’ bodies from the cemetery for enemy casualties at Kibbutz Amiad.
The soldiers extracted the coffins of some 190 Hizbullah members, in preparation for transferal to Lebanon.
