Hizbullah Israeli Exchange-The real Nassim Nisr
A prisoner’s dilemma: Hezbollah re-brands a troubled drifter
Nassim Nisr, who served a six-year prison sentence in Israel on charges of spying for Hezbollah, is now a free man. After being released earlier today, he was handed over to the Red Cross for deportation from Israel into Lebanon shortly before noon. Nisr held Israeli nationality at the time of his arrest in 2002, but reports alternately say that he dropped his Israeli citizenship while in prison, or had it revoked before his deportation.
As the crowds gathering to receive him in South Lebanon suggest, Nisr will receive a hero’s welcome – particularly as his release coincides with rumors that a larger prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel may be in its final stages. Hezbollah’s decision to hand over remains of Israeli soldiers who died during the 2006 war in “exchange” for Nisr will heighten the idea that Hezbollah has won his freedom.
According to reports, Israel is prepared to hand over five Lebanese prisoners – including the notorious Samir Kantar – and the bodies of 10 Hezbollah fighters in exchange for the two IDF soldiers whose seizure by Hezbollah triggered the 2006 summer war. Although it is not confirmed that his release is actually part of the deal (and indeed, Israeli officials have denied any connection), rumors will be enough to heighten the fanfare around Nisr’s release: He will return to Lebanon a champion, honored and celebrated in South Lebanon as a hero.
“Hero,” however, is quite a transformation for Nisr, who used to be known in South Lebanon by far less flattering epithets. Beyond the story told by the press, a different history of this troubled man was related to NOW Lebanon by Nisr’s relatives and fellow villagers from his hometown of Bazouriyeh, who preferred to stay anonymous.
A troubled past
Nisr was born in Lebanon in 1968 to a Lebanese Shia father and a Jewish mother, who converted to Islam after her marriage. According to village sources, he moved to Israel twice, both times for financial reasons.
Nisr was unemployed when he first decided to leave Lebanon, during the Israeli invasion of 1982. Shortly after his arrival in Israel, Nisr settled down with his mother’s family in the Tel Aviv area, marrying his first cousin, with whom he had one child before they divorced. In 1993, Nisr returned to Lebanon and was arrested by the Amal Movement, although he was later released for reasons yet unknown.
Nisr left Lebanon again in 1998, and sources agree that he subsequently consented to gather intelligence for Hezbollah because he feared his family in South Lebanon would be harmed. However, they also speculated to NOW Lebanon that he might have been arrested for other reasons, too, knowing his “hopeless” personality.
“He was totally lost when he was a young man,” an older man from Bazouriyeh said. “He was a troublemaker and always tried to make problems in order to get attention.”
According to the villager, Nisr never held down a steady job, and was seen by his family as a complete “hopeless case,” or loser. Nassim was known for anti-social behavior, including his heavy drinking.
Nisr’s family in Bazouriyeh was affiliated with the Baath party, but the source believed that Nassim’s erratic, troubled nature would make it impossible for him to follow an ideology. When Nisr moved to Israel the second time, people in the village were taken by complete surprise, as he left suddenly, without any warning. For this reason, until his arrest by the Israel authorities, his hometown suspected him of treachery.
Even today, almost no one believes that he was sent to Israel by Hezbollah as an agent – rather, an arrangement was worked out later, and one in which Nisr’s strategic contributions were minimal.
“He probably left to start a new life, as his life in Lebanon was a total mess, but I wouldn’t believe that this person could be trusted by Hezbollah,” the villager observed. During his second stay in Israel, Nisr married a Russian Israeli woman, with whom he had two daughters.
Another source quoted a Hezbollah official in the village who confirmed that when Nisr left the second time, there was no prior coordination between him and Hezbollah, although such ties seem to have developed later.
Apparently, Nisr has become a devout Muslim while in prison – especially since Hezbollah “adopted” him as part of the broader issue of Lebanese detainees in Israel. According to press reports, the Nisr family home in Bazouriyeh has been decked out in preparation for Nassim’s return, plastered with Lebanese flags, portraits of Hassan Nasrallah and other Hezbollah decorations.