By ANDY SOLTIS
June 19, 2008
Israel is on the verge of a prisoner swap with Hezbollah that would free an infamous terrorist serving a life sentence for killing four Israelis, including a 4-year-old girl, Lebanese sources said yesterday.
Under the deal, mediated by a UN-appointed German negotiator, Hezbollah would return two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border raid in 2006 - but it is not clear whether they are still alive.
In return, Israel would release the bodies of 10 Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes, as well as Lebanese prisoners, headed by Samir Kuntar, who in 1979 carried out one of the most horrific attacks ever in Israel.
Kuntar was a 16-year-old Palestinian Liberation Front member when he led a four-man Lebanese guerrilla team by boat to the Israeli coast. They killed two policemen and broke into an apartment, where they seized a father, Danny Haran, and his 4-year-old daughter, Einat.
The terrorists fled to a beach where they shot Haran in front of his daughter, then crushed her skull on rocks.
Kuntar was captured and sentenced to life in prison.
His release has repeatedly been demanded by Arab terrorists. But until now, Israel had refused to include him in prisoner exchanges.
The deal described as imminent would be executed later this month. With Post Wire Services
