Israeli special forces units entered Lebanon Friday night and collected 22 hostages — nine soldiers and 13 civilians — without firing a shot. Three of the civilians were returned to Lebanon today after an investigation absolved them of suspicion that they were saboteurs, a military spokesman announced.
The hostages, all male, were believed to have been taken as a consequence of the kidnapping of a 54 year-old Israeli farmer, Shmuel Rosenwasser, by Arab guerrillas while he was on guard duty at Metuallah near the Lebanese border on New Year’s Day.
Rosenwasser was the first Israeli civilian kidnapped by guerrillas. The Cabinet today discussed means of securing his prompt release without according the guerrillas — in this case El Fatah — recognition as a belligerent. El Fatah has demanded the release of its own “prisoners of war” by Israel in return for Rosenwasser. Such an exchange however would implicitly grant captured El Fatah guerrillas and saboteurs POW status and would place them under the protection of the Geneva Convention. El Fatah failed to gain such status at the last International Red Cross conference at Istanbul where it was ruled that the guerrilla organization did not meet some of the conditions laid down by the Geneva Convention.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAPTURED ISRAELI COULD BE PLACED ON LEBANESE GOVERNMENT
The taking of hostages in Lebanon could place responsibility for Rosenwasser’s release squarely on Lebanese Government authorities in Beirut.
The operation was meticulous and daring although Lebanese Army units offered so little opposition that the Israeli forces didn’t bother to return their fire. The Israelis crossed the Lebanese border in two columns. One column of infantry entered Qalla village and rounded up 13 men after peacefully evacuating all women and children. The youngsters were quieted with chewing gum and candy. The men went along with their captors without resistance.
The second Israeli column, headed by a half track, entered a Lebanese border post with headlights blazing and took over a three-story police station. They found nine Lebanese soldiers huddled inside, all fully armed but offering no resistance. The police station was evacuated and then demolished by Israeli sappers. The column recrossed the Israeli border with its prisoners.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
