Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., July 09, 2008 Tamuz 6, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:49 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Israel signs swap deal with Hezbollah By Amos Harel, Barak Ravid and Yuval Azoulay Israel has signed a prisoner exchange agreement with Hezbollah, according to a statement released yesterday by the Prime Minster's Bureau. Israel Defense Forces soldiers have begun digging up the bodies of Lebanese combatants to be exchanged in the deal. Ofer Dekel, Israel's chief negotiator for securing the release of abducted soldiers, signed the deal on Sunday after meeting in Europe with the German mediator charged by the UN with brokering the exchange, Gerhard Konrad. "The continuation of the deal's implementation is conditional upon the existence of a few more components," a bureau spokesperson said, without explicitly stating what those components were. Advertisement Israel is expected to release Lebanese prisoners and Hezbollah will hand over two missing IDF soldiers in the exchange. Hezbollah kidnapped the soldiers - reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - during a cross-border raid that triggered the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Hezbollah has given no word on the soldiers' condition, although they are widely presumed dead. Olmert declared Goldwasser and Regev dead before the cabinet approved the deal, but Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has not allowed Red Cross visits or given any sign that the two are alive, called that declaration "speculation." The exchange is expected to take place in the next 10 days to two weeks. The Prime Minister's Bureau statement also noted that Israel has still not received the final report on the fate of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad that Hezbollah pledged to hand over. The report is supposed to detail efforts Hezbollah made to find out what happened to Arad after his plane crashed in Lebanon in 1986. In any case it seems the final report on Arad will not influence the cabinet decision to proceed with the swap. Dekel traveled to Europe yesterday to receive the report. The army confirmed yesterday that the process of exhuming bodies has begun at the Amiad cemetery for enemy combatants, which has been declared a closed military zone to prevent reporters from witnessing the process. Israel will also hand over the bodies of some 200 Arabs killed while infiltrating northern Israel, and Hezbollah will return body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon in 2006. While Israeli officials refused to say whose bodies would be transfered to Lebanon, according to Palestinian sources the dead include Palestinian and Lebanese guerrillas killed in decades of conflict with Israel, and the bodies of eight Hezbollah fighters. The dead may include the perpetrators of the attacks in Ma'alot in 1974, on the Coastal Road in 1978, and near kibbutz Matzuba in 2002; and bodies of Lebanese and Palestinians killed during the 1978 Litani campaign and 1982 Lebanon War. In exchange for the report on Arad, Israel is to provide information on four Iranian diplomats who disappeared in Lebanon in 1982. Iran claims they were kidnapped by Lebanese militiamen allied with Israel, who delivered them to Israeli troops. Israel has long denied holding the four, and Samir Geagea, former head of the disbanded Lebanese Forces, has said that militiamen killed them. The next stage of the deal would come in another three weeks, after the cabinet determines the number of prisoners to be releaed and their identities. Defense Minister Ehud Barak met in his Tel Aviv office yesterday afternoon with the team he established to examine the principles involved in dealing with kidnapped and missing soldiers. The group, headed by former Supreme Court President Meir Shamgar, will formulate policy for the state's handling of issues relating to such missing and captive soldiers. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Desert pursuit IDF criticizes Egyptian soldiers over fatal cross-border manhunt. Backing McCain The more religious the voter the more likely he is to support McCain over Obama.

Read & React Bradley Burston: Fear of calling a terrorist a terrorist Responses: 121 Editorial: Hamas has kept its truce commitments thus far Responses: 81 Former water chief: Faucets could run dry this summer Responses: 63 U.S. exports to Iran shot up despite Bush sanction talk Responses: 33 Assad: Direct talks with Israel only after Bush leaves office Responses: 26 More Headlines 02:01 Key ministers to discuss regenerated Hezbollah, Syria front 23:30 EU, Blair: Checkpoints, Gaza blockade hindering Palestinian aid effort 22:03 PMO: We lack funds to protect all homes in Gaza rocket range 23:28 Poll: The more religious the Jewish voter, the more pro-McCain 21:13 U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran officials, companies aiding nuke program 01:44 Topless DJ at party leads Unilever to apologize; Haredim still offended 01:08 Meteor sighting sparks UFO panic in Israel 02:33 Rightist MK tries Knesset caucus effort to thwart Israeli Arabs 21:44 Police officer moderately wounds truck robber in Negev 23:09 Tamir apologizes for 'unparliamentary' Knesset outburst 19:19 Convicted terrorist released from jail due to declining health 19:20 Mortar shell hits W. Negev in fresh Gaza truce violation Previous Editions Select Day 08 jul 07 jul 06 jul 04 jul 03 jul 02 jul 01 jul 30 jun 29 jun 27 jun 26 jun 25 jun

Special Offers Advertisement Dan Hotels Israel Live the Legend & experience an Unforgettable Summer Vacation Yossi Avrahami Presents: New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat Jerusalem of Gold Luxury apartments in Jerusalem's finest location Holyland Park Jerusalem Apartment Tower World Class Luxury In the heart of Tel-Aviv The Meier on Rothschild tower Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved