BEIRUT: The return of the Qatar-appointed mediator to Lebanon Thursday helped turn the opinion of the families of captured servicemen, with some expressing hope for the first time, citing confidential information, that they might be released before the New Year. The hostage crisis also dominated Thursday’s Cabinet session but details were not released, in line with the government’s discretionary policy. “The prime minister tackled the issue of the captured servicemen, and stressed that the crisis cell was continuing its efforts to free the soldiers, and that the matter is very sensitive and complicated and should be followed discretely and responsibly,” Information Minister Ramzi Joreige said at a news conference after the meeting.
He added that the media’s coverage of the crisis “was not helping.”
Speaker Nabih Berri told visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence that the hostage file had been beset with “mistakes,” primarily the involvement of multiple intermediaries at once.
But the speaker said the outcome of a crisis cell meeting Wednesday allowed him to be more comfortable with the progress of the file.
Hussein Youssef, father of ISIS captive Mohammad Youssef told The Daily Star that the return of Ahmad al-Khatib was one development, among others, that has inspired a sudden spark of optimism among the families of the 26 servicemen still being held by The Nusra Front and ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal.
“The return of the Qatari mediator to Lebanon comforts us very much,” Youssef said. “The general atmosphere in the last few days has been positive, and we hope the file will be solved by the New Year.”
A source in direct contact with the militants said Khatib had arrived to Arsal by Thursday evening.
“Information was also given to us that General Security head [Maj. Gen.] Abbas Ibrahim either traveled to Syria already or will today,” the acting spokesperson for the families added. “We fully trust Ibrahim and he would not have gone to Syria if the expected result wasn’t positive.”
Youssef was reticent to expand on the families’ newfound confidence that the hostage file would be resolved soon, explaining, “We don’t want the information to lose its value [by being shared with the press].”
“What is important is that there is new information which has brought us comfort and has led us to believe that things are picking up pace and moving in a better way than it had in the past,” he added.
The air of optimism has come just two days after Lebanese authorities confirmed the arrest of Saja al-Hamid al-Dulaimi, said to be a former wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
When asked whether he believed Dulaimi’s arrest constitutes a key bargaining chip for the government, Youssef said he had not been informed about “the size or weight of this card,” but that he trusted “the government is dealing with the case and it will use the right cards in the right time.”
The family members who spoke to The Daily Star all said the government was prompted to act because of the dangerous sectarian fallout that might have been produced if Ali Bazzal, a Shiite from Baalbek, had been executed by the Nusra Front, not necessarily because of the arrest of Dulaimi.
The militant groups threatened to kill the policeman last week, at which point his family threatened to kidnap Arsal residents in retaliation, according to Youssef.
The families of the captured men also staged escalatory protests outside the Grand Serail last week, burning tires and blocking key traffic routes.
“We sense that serious steps are being taken and that the government is taking more responsibility,” Youssef said. “At a certain point the government felt the danger.”
Referring to the crisis cell meeting convened Wednesday by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Youssef said the results were guarded but that there appeared to be consensus over limiting the hostage file to Ibrahim and another “assistant.”
The crisis cell will convene another meeting Friday.
But not all family members echoed Youssef’s confidence. Aisha, the mother of ISIS captive Khaled Moqbel Hasan, said precedent had taught never to be too self-assured.
“It has been four months since our children were taken, and whenever we go the Serail we are always told progress is being made,” she said.
About 20 days ago, Aisha said she traveled to Arsal’s outskirts to see her son. “The militants told me the government was lying about progress on the file, I said ‘Hasn’t the mediator been to see you?’ and they said no. Who should I believe?” – Additional reporting by Hashem Osseiran
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