Soon after the start of the second Palestinian intifada in September 2000, Hizbullah abducted a former Israeli colonel from inside Israel. Following tortuous negotiations, in January 2004 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon exchanged 436 Lebanese prisoners and 59 corpses of Lebanese soldiers for one Israeli hostage and three corpses of Israeli soldiers. At the last minute Sharon held back three prominent Lebanese detainees. Since then Hizbullah has talked about getting them released by abducting Israeli soldiers. A recent poll showed that more Lebanese were interested in their release than settling the dispute about the Shebaa Farm with Israel.
50 things I've learned about the Arab-Israeli Conflict (tags)
50 things I've learned about the Arab-Israeli Conflict