Report: Israel returns five men taken in commando raid on Baalbek
Last update - 17:47 21/08/2006 Report: Israel returns five men taken in commando raid on Baalbek By The Associated PressBEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel on Monday handed over to UN peacekeepers five Lebanese men who were captured during an Israel Defense Forces commando raid late on August 1 on the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek, according to a peacekeeping official.
At least 16 Lebanese were killed in the commando operation against what authorities in the Bekaa Valley city said was in Iranian-built hospital.
Israel said the building was a Hezbollah base and claimed it captured five Hezbollah fighters and killed 10 guerrillas.
The UN peacekeeping official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said the prisoners were returned to the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, just north of the Israeli
border.
If this report is true, it raises two questions in my mind.
First why are we returning these five captured Lebanese, with out getting our soldiers and the remains of our dead in return?
Second is the return of these men at this time a signal that they were not as Israel claimed Hizballah terrorist but rather Lebanese civilians and that is why thy are being
returned?
