Lebanon released an Israeli Arab citizen on Thursday who had been imprisoned there for a year, in a move that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed as a “sign of things to come” on hostage releases.
The Times of Israel reported:
An Israeli civilian who was jailed in Lebanon for the past year without the knowledge of his family was returned to Israel Thursday.
The government coordinator for hostages and missing people, Gal Hirsch, announced Salah Abu Hussein’s return, saying it came after negotiations held with Lebanon in recent months and was carried out with the assistance of the Red Cross.
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It was unclear how and when Abu Hussein entered Lebanon. In recent years, there have been several cases of Arab Israeli civilians crossing the border into Lebanon before being returned to Israel by Lebanese authorities.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said:
Salah Abu-Hussein, an Israeli citizen, who had been imprisoned in Lebanon for approximately one year, was returned to Israel this afternoon.
Pursuant to negotiations that were held in the past few months, with the assistance of the Red Cross, Abu-Hussein was handed over to Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch by the Lebanese authorities, at the Rosh Hanikra crossing.
After questioning and a preliminary medical examination, Abu-Hussein was taken by the IDF for comprehensive examinations at the hospital, following which he will meet his family.
The circumstances of the incident are under investigation by the security forces.
In a separate statement, translated from Hebrew, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The Prime Minister thanks all those who were involved in the effort, especially Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch.
“This is a positive step and a sign of things to come.”
It is not clear whether Israel will be able to reach an agreement with Hamas to see the last Israeli hostages (20 living, 50 total) released from Gaza. Israel is currently planning to invade Gaza City, Hamas’s last major stronghold in Gaza — partly to defeat Hamas, but also to create greater pressure for a negotiated agreement.
Lebanon and Israel do not have normal diplomatic relations, but have experienced a thaw since Israel’s victory last fall against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which had held Lebanese politics hostage to Iran’s whims.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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