JERUSALEM — Israeli officials responded sharply Monday to suggestions that the apparent slaying of an American hostage Monday resulted from Israel's decision to kidnap a militant Muslim leader in southern Lebanon last week.
Foreign Minister Moshe Arens contended that the Shiite Muslim militiamen who held the American, Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins, were solely responsible for his presumed death.
"They are the only ones to blame for these kind of acts," Arens said during a government radio broadcast. "The civilized world has to ask itself how best to fight this kind of terrible criminal action."
Israeli forces captured Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid and two associates during a helicopter raid. Early today, Israeli officials claimed that during interrogation, Obeid has already confessed not only to the kidnaping of Higgins but also to the capture of two Israeli soldiers and participation in planning attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon.
In response to the seizure, members of Hezbollah, or Party of God, threatened to hang Higgins if Obeid was not released. A group called the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, a Hezbollah faction, said it hanged Higgins on Monday.
Arens parried questions raised by Israeli reporters that relations with the United States would suffer as a result of the sheik's kidnaping and its link with Higgins' fate. President Bush and other Western leaders had criticized the seizure of Obeid as a danger to regional peace.
"Israel and the United States stand together in the fight against terrorism, have done so in the past and will do so in the future," Arens countered.
Israeli officials insisted that despite the deadly retaliation by Hezbollah, the abduction of Obeid will strike a blow at terrorism in the long run.
"This is not something that can be measured in terms of hours or days," said Alon Liel, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. "One has to look at the battle in terms of years."
Officials here argued that by abducting Obeid, Israel was acting for the good of Western nations. "The only way to fight terrorism is by force," government radio quoted Arens as saying. "And the Free World will have to learn this."
While the government kept up a spirited defense, questions were being raised in and out of government about the wisdom and long-term significance of taking Obeid.
