Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stationed in Lebanon this week visited the six Israeli soldiers being held as prisoners of war in Lebanon by the Palestine Liberation Organization, the ICRC reported here. The visit took place in accordance with the regulations of the Geneva Convention, which means that the ICRC representatives were accompanied by doctors but no witnesses.
The ICRC spokesman said that according to the report he received, the Israelis were in good health but were "very homesick." The ICRC has been unsuccessful in trying to obtain permission from a PLO splinter group which is holding two other Israeli soldiers as prisoners of war.
Dr. Ovadia Soffer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, visited the ICRC last week and expressed concern that the ICRC visits to the Israeli POWs were not frequent enough.
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.