Relatives of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israeli army reservists abducted by Hezbollah, were not overly excited Monday by reports from Lebanon about progress in the negotiations for their release, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's statement that Samir Kuntar and other Lebanese prisoners will be released soon.
Ehud's father, Shlomo Goldwasser, responded skeptically to Nasrallah's speech: "I don't believe Nasrallah. If the man truly cares about Kuntar and the other prisoners, he would at least allow Red Cross representatives to visit the kidnapped soldiers in Lebanon," he said.
Ehud's wife, Karnit Goldwasser, declined to comment on Nasrallah's statement, or on an earlier report of progress in the hostage talks, but said that the Israeli government's point man for the talks, Ofer Dekel, briefs her regularly. "Without getting into details - I cannot talk about everything we know - I hope that the update is real and that there really will be a breakthrough," she said.
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Ehud's mother, Miki Goldwasser, said the family has no information regarding the news reports. "We don't know yet what is happenning now in Lebanon, following the agreements that brought Hezbollah back into the political arena. The report might be credible, or just more spin. We, at any rate, know nothing new."
Eldad Regev's brother, Eyal Regev, said: "We hope the report is credible and that there really will be a breakthrough soon, but beyond that, we have nothing to comment on. No one has briefed us on details or new developments."
Roni Keren, whose brother Danny Haran - along with Danny's two children and a policemen was slain by Kuntar in a 1979 terror attack in Nahariya, said: "We have no official information, but my personal opinion is that the murderer Kuntar must not be freed. The court sentenced him to 24 life sentences and he belongs in jail."
Danny Haran's widow Smadar said she no longer gives press interviews.
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