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Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah (file)
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| By Israel Insider staff July 29, 2007 |
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Israeli officials and the parents of the two reservists kidnapped by Hezbollah, Ehud Regev and Eldad Goldwasser, dismissed reports that one of them has allegedly died. German sources reportedly told the news on Saturday to Lebanese daily An-Nahar, associated with Hezbollah's opposition.
Miki Goldwasser, mother of Ehud Goldwasser, rejected the report, calling it "a cynical attempt to play with the emotions of the reservists' families."
"They can't play with my feelings, and I know that they wouldn't just release information to [a] newspaper," Goldwasser told Army Radio.
"The position of Israel and the IDF is that the reservists are alive and it won't change because of a publication in this or any other Arab newspaper," President Shimon Peres said on Sunday.
The United Nations is leading talks between Israel and Hezbollah over the soldiers, apparently through a German intelligence operative, Haaretz reported. Hezbollah abducted the soldiers last summer, sparking the Second Lebanon War, and has since refused to release information without concessions from Israel.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has also denied the report, claiming that he would never leak information for free when Israel would be willing to pay a high price for it.
"Only I am authorized to pass along details on this subject. Every statement of this sort can bring us human compensation, which is why we don't give information for free," he continued.
Shlomo Goldwasser, father of kidnapped soldier Ehud, denies the reported leak as unsubstantiated.
"When information existed as though both soldiers were alive and well, we did not take them seriously," he said. "Since the abduction we receive this or that message that Red Cross representatives will be allowed to visit or will be give details that could indicate with certainty at their condition."
Nasrallah was quoted last week threatening Israel with Hezbollah's alleged capability to strike "anywhere in Israel," in what appears to be a series of attempts to extort concessions from Israel.
In related news, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is scheduled to meet on Saturday with Nasrallah, the Lebanese newspaper al-Diyar reported, in an attempt to quell the eight-month power struggle between Hezbollah and the anti-Syrian government.
A member of the pro-Syrian opposition expressed skepticism, saying that, "the mission is delicate and at this time chances are weak to achieve a breakthrough."
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