Shimon Shiffer-30/07/2007

Shimon Shiffer, (Ynetnews)

"I suggest that we believe Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who last week said that he alone is authorized to provide information on the condition of abducted IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

Regretfully, all other announcements regarding this painful and sensitive matter stem from Hizbullah's campaign of psychological warfare or the desire by members of the international community to make headlines on the backs of the two soldiers."

"Olmert is convinced that the responsibility obliges him to reject the price demanded by Nasrallah. The prime minister has said this to the Goldwasser and Regev families in the most direct and blunt manner: "I will not pay a price that would encourage future terror organizations to abduct Israelis whoever they are."

Yet despite this, it should be noted that over the negotiations to release the two soldiers hovers a dark cloud of all the mistakes made in trying to reveal what happened to missing airman Ron Arad throughout the years.

The soldiers' families want unequivocal answers. If, heaven forbid, the two are no longer alive, they will know how to deal with their grief, but if there is no unequivocal evidence, they expect the government to make a little more effort. This is the dilemma Olmert faces every day, from the moment he enters his chambers and looks at the photos of Goldwasser and Regev in his office and which are visible to all those meeting with the prime minister."

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