ISRAEL FEARS CITIZENS ABROAD WILL BE TAKEN HOSTAGE
JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Israel's security services are warning the government
that Islamic insurgency groups and organized crime could launch attempts to
abduct nationals abroad.Officials said the proposed prisoner exchange with Hizbullah could spark
a series of abduction attempts by other groups that seek the release of
their members from Israeli or other prisons. They said the deal with
Hizbullah was
unprecedented because it involved an Israeli civilian tempted to
travel to the Gulf by the lure of a lucrative business deal.Israel has offered to release 400 Arab and Palestinian prisoners for the
release of Israeli businessman Elchanan Tanenbaum and the return of the
bodies of three Israeli soldiers killed by Hizbullah. Tanenbaum, a former
colonel in the Israeli reserves, was abducted by Hizbullah in a plan
proposed by a convicted drug dealer who sought to be released from an
Israeli jail in a prisoner exchange."If we give in to this, no Israeli will be free to walk anywhere in the
world," Housing Minister Ephraim Eitam said. "It's not an exchange of
prisoners, but rather a new type of attack -- a blackmail attack. If we
start surrendering to blackmail, there will be no end. The high price that
we're paying means that Israeli citizens will always be a target for
kidnappings."
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