An Israeli team will begin indirect negotiations with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Geneva shortly for the release of eight Israeli soldiers captured by the PLO in Lebanon, the Jerusalem weekly “Koteret Rashit” reported today. The International Red Cross will serve as go-between, the report said.
The magazine, which credited Red Cross sources for its information, said there would be no direct contact between the two parties. Red Cross representatives would “shuttle” between the two delegations. According to the report, Israel will be represented by a senior officer of the Israel Defense Force and by Ann Marie Lambert who heads the department of humanitarian contacts with international organizations at the Israel Foreign Ministry.
The Red Cross sources noted that the fact that the third party to these negotiations will not be a state indicated that “both parties (Israel and the PLO) gave up some of their principles to hold for the first time matter of fact negotiations.”
According to “Koteret Rashit,” a precondition for the beginning of the negotiations in Geneva was a television statement by former Brig. Gen. Moshe Nativ who headed the IDF’s manpower division that Israel was ready to negotiate with the PLO for the release of the prisoners. Nativ made the statement after his retirement from the army, a condition required by the Defense Ministry.
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.
