ISRAELI state prosecutors have indicted three captured Lebanese Hezbollah guerillas on criminal charges including murder and membership in a terrorist organisation, Justice Ministry officials have said.The trial in Nazareth District Court reflected Israel's refusal to recognise Hezbollah as a legitimate fighting force, despite the Shi'ite group's broadbased support in Lebanon and representation in the Beirut government and Parliament.
The defendants were named as Mahmoud Ali Suleiman, Mohammed Sarur, and Mahar Qurani. Officials said they were captured during an offensive in southern Lebanon launched after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a July 12 raid.
It was not immediate clear how the defendants would plead to the charges, which carry lengthy potential prison sentences. Trying the three in open criminal court rather than in a military tribunal may signal a desire by Israeli authorities for a public reckoning that could off-set unhappiness in Israel with the war's inconclusive end in an August 14 truce.
Convictions might complicate any future swap of the Hezbollah men for the two Israeli army reservists still held captive in Lebanon.