Samir Kuntar
Photo: AFP
Samir Kuntar: Israel will give in to Hamas' demands
Murderer released in exchange for bodies of two Israeli soldiers assures Palestinians, 'Enemy's government will consent to names demanded by resistance organizations and to number of prisoners'
Samir Kuntar, the Lebanese who murdered the Haran family in Nahariya and was later released from Israeli prison in exchange for the bodies of captured soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, learned from his own experience just how much Israel is willing to pay for the return of its captured soldiers.
He assured the Palestinians that Israel will ultimately capitulate to the demands being put forth by the organizations holding captured soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Kuntar, who made the hajj to Mecca, spoke with an Islamic Jihad online reporter in Saudi Arabia: "The prisoner swap deal will be an honorable deal. The enemy's government will consent to the names demanded by the resistance organizations and to the number of prisoners. But the organizations need to stand their ground, be insistent, and not agree to any concession because concessions will draw additional concessions."
Kuntar addressed the prisoners currently jailed in Israel with a recommendation that they be patient. "I spent 30 years in jail, and I ultimately got to see freedom," he said.
He also called upon Hamas and Fatah to unify. Kuntar, according to the Islamic Jihad site, was the "star" among thousands of Palestinian pilgrims to Mecca and even met with the Palestinian religious affairs minister.
The London-based newspaper al-Hayyat reported Tuesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the names of 400 prisoners to be released as part of the swap deal. Controversy still remains around the remaining 50 names, including three female Palestinian prisoners – Amneh Muna, who murdered the boy Ofir Rahum eight years ago, Ahlam al-Tamimi, and Qahira a-Saadi.
