[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: The operative question is if this is a trade of a
vicious murderer for bodies or for live soldiers. The poll doesn't seem to
address this thus leading to a resuilt that could be interpreted either way
depending on the respondent.]

Poll: 63% of Israelis back release of Samir Kuntar for IDF soldiers
By Jack Khourie, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 22:50 28/05/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988032.html

A special Haaretz "Dialogue" poll reveals that 63 percent of those polled
believe that Lebanese Terrorist Samir Kuntar, currently serving four life
sentences in Israel, should be released in exchange for two Israel Defense
Forces soldiers held captive by Hezbollah.

The poll, supervised by Tel Aviv University Professor Camille Fuchs, also
showed that 21 percent of poll participants were against releasing Kuntar,
while 16 percent were unsure.

Kuntar was convicted of participating in the 1979 terror attack in Naharyia
in which two members of the Haran family were killed, as well as two Israeli
policemen.
Smadar Haran, the sole survivor of the 1979 attack said she hopes reports of
hostage negotiations with Hezbollah that would include the release of Kuntar
are true, "and not just spin for the media that will cause heartache for the
hostages' families."

Recent reports have suggested that a prisoner exchange agreement is nearing
fruition between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanon-based militant group
kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in July 2006,
sparking the 34-day Second Lebanon War. The reported deal would see Kuntar
and four other Lebanese militants released, as well as the remains of ten
Hezbollah fighters held by Israel, in exchange for Eldad and Regev.

Haran's husband, Danny, and their 4-year-old daughter were murdered. Their
2-year-old daughter also died of suffocation when her mother tried to keep
her quiet in their hiding place.

Haran prefers to say little on this matter, explaining that all of the
preoccupation with it is causing her great suffering. But Tuesday morning
she decided to grant an interview to Army Radio, prompted by a feeling that
the captives' families have been hurled into a maelstrom of "meat market"
talk about the price to be paid for their release.

"I was horrified to see on one of the television channels that they were
asking viewers to send a text message on whether to free Kuntar, like a
reality show or 'A Star is Born,'" she told Haaretz in a brief telephone
conversation from her Nahariya home. "I felt we were getting sucked into the
meat market. That's how I feel, both in terms of the terminology and the
manner of approach, and I cannot cooperate with that."

Kuntar's fate, she added, is a matter for the state to decide. "The murderer
Kuntar is not my personal prisoner, he is a prisoner of the State of Israel.
Decisions concerning him should be made according to the best interests of
the state."

Danny Haran's brother, Roni Keren, told Haaretz on Monday that he is against
releasing Kuntar, since Israel would forfeit its only remaining bargaining
chip for obtaining information about Ron Arad.