Termos, 30, with his mother (picture)

Two SLA militiamen were released by Hizbullah on Friday in return for the
liberation of 27 detainees by Israel the day before in "goodwill" gestures
less than a week before Syria and Israel resume Middle East peace talks.
Najm Elias Habib, 19, and Assad Termos, 30, were released to their families
at Hizbullah’s offices in Bir al-Abed, Beirut, after being held by the
resistance.
Habib was captured by Hizbullah in Jezzine last April, while Termos was
snatched from the Talloussa compound in the central sector of the occupation
zone a month later. It was unclear whether they would be charged by the
authorities for having served with the militia.
MP Mohammed Raad and the Lebanon head of the International Committee for the
Red Cross, Henri Fournier, were at the party’s offices for their release.
"We will not be satisfied until all the detainees are released," Hizbullah’s
Raad told reporters. He said that the release of Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid
was the main priority. Obeid was captured by Israeli commandos in 1989 from
his home in Jibsheet.
Fournier congratulated both Hizbullah and the Israelis for what he
considered "proof of goodwill." He told reporters that the ICRC was still
busy negotiating the release of other prisoners but declined to say exactly
how many people remain incarcerated.
"The figures can change at any moment, but I can say that there are still
people who need to be released," he said.
The releases came as welcome news amid an atmosphere
of apprehension over the newly revived Middle East peace negotiations, which
resume in the United States next week.
A statement issued Friday by the Follow-up Committee for the Support of
Lebanese Detainees in Israeli Prisons said 140 Lebanese detainees remain in
Khiam or Israeli prisons.
Israel released 22 men and three woman on Thursday from the Khiam prison, in
addition to two other detainees who were held in the Ashkelon jail in
Israel.
Hizbullah’s decision to release the two SLA militiamen is "very good and
constructive," said Fournier.
"I’m so happy my son is back to me. I hope that all the Lebanese mothers
will meet again with their sons," said Wardeh, Habib’s mother.
"I’m going home to Jezzine today. I don’t know what I’m doing next ­
anything could happen later," said Termos.
He asserted that he was treated well during his eight-month detention,
during which he was held in the same room as Habib and two other SLA militia
members. "I hope that the others will be released soon," he said.
The remaining militiamen held by Hizbullah are believed to be Boutros Wehbe,
an SLA cook captured from Jezzine last May, and Mohammed Bassam who was
grabbed by resistance fighters when the Beit Yahoun outpost was over-run,
also last May.

Israel still holds 140 Lebanese in prisons

The Follow-up Committee for the Support of Lebanese Detainees in Israeli
Prisons reported on Friday that 140 Lebanese detainees were still being held
in Israeli prisons.
Among those imprisoned are five women, and four teenagers, as well as
elderly citizens, including 70-year-old Ali Jawad Faqih, who is imprisoned
with his two sons, Mohammed, 25, and Ibrahim, 30.
The committee issued its statement after being told of conditions at Khiam
by detainees released on Thursday. A delegation from the committee visited
Ali Saad and Mustafa Arabiyye, who are being treated at Hammoud and Sarafand
hospitals. Saad and Arabiyye recounted the torture they were allegedly
subjected to at Khiam, including electric shocks in the ears, fingers and
genitals. Ulcers, migraines, heart and prostate problems were all familiar
afflictions among the detainees, they said.
According to the released, some of the prisoners’ conditions deteriorated
and they required immediate medical attention. One of the most seriously
affected was Nimr Nimr, who underwent seven unsuccessful prostate surgeries
and whose medical treatments were poor, they said. Suleiman Ramadan, also
known as the "grandfather of the detainees," was reportedly suffering from
serious physical and emotional problems.
 

DS 15/01/00