Twelve wounded Israeli prisoners of war, the first to be released by Syria, celebrated their freedom with their families, relatives and friends last night after landing at Ben Gurion Airport and physical examinations at Tel Hashomer Hospital. They returned to the hospital today for further checkups and treatment and at least six will have to undergo surgery, according to a medical report released today.
Dr. Mordechai Shani, director general of Tel Hashomer, said that the initial examinations indicated that the POWs had been treated well in the Syrian prison. He said that only one of the returnees was in “bad” condition but his life is not in danger. Doctors estimated that most of the other released men would be able to leave the hospital in two weeks. Premier Golda Meir and Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur visited the men today.
The released men are: Yaacov Shalom Ariel itamar Barnea. Amiram Gay; Gevriel Garzon; Noach Michael Hertz; Yaacov Yaacovy; Shalom Lavi; Avikam Lief; Ze’ev Nesher; Avraham Asa-E1; Benyamin Kiryati; and Amichai Rokach.
Ben Gurion Airport was packed with relatives of the returnees early yesterday morning, hours before the Red Cross plane operating for the United Nations was due to arrive from Damascus. Many other families preferred to wait at Tel Hashomer hospital where they knew the wounded men would be taken.
High Israeli officials were also at the airport, among them Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and his wife. Foreign Minister and Mrs. Abba Eban and top ranking army officers who boarded the UN plane as soon as it landed. As the returning soldiers left the plane each was presented with flowers and a pamphlet summarising news of Israel and the world during their almost nine months in captivity and informing them of the process they will be undergoing.
MOST ABLE TO WALK
Most of the returnees were able to walk. Some of them hobbled on crutches to the barriers when they spotted members of their families and joyous, tearful reunions took place on the open landing strip. Among the POWs was one whose wife gave birth to a daughter while he was imprisoned in Syria and another who had left a two-week old son when war broke out last Oct. The son was named Dror — Freedom.
Shalom Libbi, one of the returning soldiers who had been scheduled for discharge last Oct 6. the day of the Syrian-Egyptian attack, told reporters that he and the other POWs had been permitted to walk in the prison yard for a half hour every day. He said he had kept a diary of prison life but had to leave it behind when he was released.
The remaining 50-odd Israeli POWs in Syria are expected to be released and returned to Israel next Friday. Their comrades who landed yesterday reported that they were well and burstyig with excitement at the prospect of returning home. Israel released 25 Syrians and one Moroccan who fought with the Syrians. They were flown to Damascus by the Red Cross.
2 POWS IN LEBANON TO BE FREED
Two Israeli pilots, who bailed out and were taken prisoner in Lebanon last month after their plane was shot down over Syria are expected to be released by the end of this week in exchange for 13 Lebanese civilians captured by Israel in a commando raid on terrorist strongholds in southern Lebanon in April.
As the first Israeli POWs returned, the northern front was quiet for the first time in nearly three months. But fighting had continued up to the moment the Israeli-Syrian disengagement accord was signed in Geneva at noon local time Friday. One Israeli soldier was killed by Syrian artillery fire Friday morning, only hours before the cease fire went into effect. When news of the signing reached Israeli troops at the front, they burst into songs and dancing and raised toasts in hopes that the truce would last.
But violence persisted even after the signing ceremonies in Geneva. Two terrorists were killed last night near Kibbutz Adamit in Western Galilee. The two were trying to infiltrate Israeli territory when they were spotted by an Israeli patrol. A brief skirmish ensued after which two bodies were found with a supply of food and arms indicating that the terrorists had planned to remain in Israeli territory for several days. There was no indication what their mission might have been.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
