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Revision as of 23:56, 16 July 2006 by Fcyoss (talk | contribs) (minor edit, correction of name spelling)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Samir Kuntar (Arabic سمير القنطار), is a Lebanese who participated in a terrorist attack on Israeli civilians in 1979. He has been held in Israeli jails under a four-times-life sentence since his conviction in 1979 on charges of murder and terrorism, for killing 2 Israeli civilians and two Israeli policemen.
Attack into Israel From Southern Lebanon
On April 22, 1979, Samir Kuntar led a unit of four infiltrators who entered Israeli waters from Lebanon and beached their rubber dinghy in the coastal town of Nahariya. The four killed a policeman who ran across them and were able to break into the apartment of the Haran family before police reinforcements had arrived. The unit took 28-year-old Danny Haran hostage along with his four-year-old daughter Einat. Kuntar murdered Einat, crushing her skull with the butt of his rifle. The wife, Smadar Haran, was able to hide in the attic with her two-year-old daughter Yael, but while trying desperately to keep the girl quiet, ended up suffocating her.
Shootout and capture by Israel
After holding to the hostages, a shootout with Israeli policemen and soldiers erupted. Samir Kuntar killed the father and the four-year-old girl at close range. A policeman and two of Samir Kuntar's unit were also killed . Kuntar and the fourth participant in the shootout were captured. The latter, Ahmed Abarrass, was freed by Israel in the 1986 Ahmed Jibril prisoner deal in return for three Israeli soldiers.
Proposed exchange for Ron Arad
Hezbollah has sought the release of Samir Kuntar. To that end Hezbollah promised to provide Israel details about the missing navigator Ron Arad, who was held for several years by Hezbollah. However, since no such swap ever took place, Israel continues to hold Kuntar.
External links
- Israel's Deadly Prisoner Deal (Front Page magazine)
- The murder, described by Smadar Haran -the only survivor (Washington Post article: "The World Should Know What He Did to My Family")
- Kidnapping of Israeli soldiers from Israel by Hezbollah to release Samir Kuntar (Monsters and Critics blog)
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