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Abducted IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser (left) and Eldad Regev. (Archive)
Last update - 15:39 16/06/2008
Family of captive soldier: Deal with Hezbollah developing
By Barak Ravid, Yoav Stern, Jack Khoury and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents, and Reuters
Tags: Lebanon, Israel, IDF 

The brother of one of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers abducted in 2006 by Hezbollah sought Monday afternoon to downplay remarks by his father earlier in the day that a deal had been finalized for the return of the troops. He confirmed, however, that a deal was in the works.

Eldad Regev was seized with fellow reservist Ehud Goldwasser in July 2006 in a raid by Hezbollah across the Israel-Lebanon border. The attack sparked the 34-day Second Lebanon War.

Eldad's father, Zvi, said Monday that his family and that of Goldwasser have been informed that a deal for the abductees' return to Israel had been finalized.
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"Ofer Dekel told us, speaking generally, that there is going to be a deal - and that's it," Regev told Israel Radio, referring to Israel's chief negotiator for securing the release of abducted IDF soldiers.

But Regev's brother Benny later cautioned against expecting the imminent return of the captives.

"My father was not being accurate," he told Reuters. "We understand that we are in the direction of a deal. That's not to say it is a deal right now."

Regev said the Goldwassers had also been briefed by Dekel.

Zvi Regev told Israel Radio that the medical condition of his son and of Goldwasser is still unknown.

"Actually no one knows. If they received treatment [after their abduction] they survived, if they didn't - then we just hope they did, and it appears that Udi [Ehud] and Eldad are returning... We are aware of the worst [scenario] but we hope for good tidings in any event," Regev said.

The IDF soldiers are believed to have been badly wounded during their abduction and no proof has been offered that they are alive by Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based militant organization.

Regev's comments came after the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported earlier Monday that military sources in Lebanon expect Hezbollah next week to return to Israel his son and Goldwasser as part of an exchange deal.

According to the report, the deal will take place between June 20-25.

In parallel to the As-Safir report, United Nations sources told the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar on Monday that an exchange for the kidnapped IDF soldiers is likely to be carried out at the end of next week.

The sources did not relay any other details about the swap except for the fact that it had been agreed upon after expedited negotiations between Israel and Hezbollah, through German mediation.

Furthermore, the Saudi-owned paper al-Sharq al-Awsat has also reported that the family of jailed Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar has begun to prepare for his imminent return to Lebanon. Kuntar's return to Lebanon is considered to constitute one of Israel's commitments in the deal.

The various Arab media reports came as Ofer Dekel was in Europe for talks with the German mediator. A meeting between the two is expected to center on advancing the deal, in return for the release of Kuntar and a number of Hezbollah operatives.

Kuntar is serving multiple life sentences for killing four Israelis in a 1979 infiltration of an apartment building in northern Israel. Among the victims were a 28-year-old man and his four-year-old daughter, whose head Kuntar repeatedly smashed against a rock before crushing her skull with a rifle butt.

On Sunday, the attorney representing Kuntar told Haaretz that his client has not received any information regarding his imminent release, despite reports to the contrary circulating over recent weeks.

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      1.   This deal has been on the table for years 10:14  |  Natallie Durson 16/06/08
      2.   Another bogus story 10:22  |  Clickfool 16/06/08
      3.   Natallie Durson is a genius ... 10:32  |  Impressed 16/06/08
      4.   Our abducted soldiers 10:34  |  Ros 16/06/08
      5.   Its the beginning of ISraels end 10:36  |  Sam 16/06/08
      6.   ושובו בנים לגבולם 10:36  |  Tzfonit 16/06/08
      7.   ISRAEL NEEDS THE DEAL MORE THAN HEZBOLLAH 10:50  |  indrajaya 16/06/08
      8.   Psycological warfare 10:57  |  fred 16/06/08
      9.   Will they be returning people or their remains??? 11:04  |  Josh 16/06/08
      10.   Ehud and Eldad, 11:07  |  sandra chitayat 16/06/08
      11.   why not from the begining? did you need a war? 11:08  |  Omar 16/06/08
      12.   To Ros, response #4, 11:10  |  sandra chitayat 16/06/08
      13.   To # 5 11:13  |  Hans 16/06/08
      14.   SAM and how do you get that feeling? 11:23  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      15.   INDRAJAYA how do you know they have not murdered the Israeli POWs 11:27  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      16.   #11 how do you figure? 11:34  |  Gili 16/06/08
      17.   peter sm 11:45  |  potobac 16/06/08
      18.   # 15, PETER SM 11:47  |  indrajaya 16/06/08
      19.   INDRAJAYA Where has Hesballa given ANY information 12:06  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      20.   #16 I seem to remember HZ calling for a truce quite quickly 12:07  |  Outsider 16/06/08
      21.   POTOBAC if you have a list of prisoners in Israel who`disappeared 12:12  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      22.   SEEING IS BELIEVING. 12:19  |  Dagma 16/06/08
      23.   Your Deal #2 the FOOLISH card sharp 12:25  |  Ron Arad 16/06/08
      24.   #7 12:36  |  Pnina 16/06/08
      25.   Such a `nice` man that KUNTAR...... 12:53  |  Dolly 16/06/08
      26.   #3 13:15  |  Hilda 16/06/08
      27.   # 19, PETER SM 13:22  |  indrajaya 16/06/08
      28.   hezbolla 13:29  |  mike 16/06/08
      29.   Ehud and Eldad 13:36  |  Zionist 16/06/08
      30.   Dolly 13:42  |  ClearCut 16/06/08
      31.   #30clearcut 14:00  |  zionist 16/06/08
      32.   Zionist 14:28  |  ClearCut 16/06/08
      33.   Thank you God. 14:37  |  Faith 16/06/08
      34.   To ClearCut # 30 - Despicable actions..... 14:54  |  Dolly 16/06/08
      35.   If I was the father I would NEVER accept the bones of my son for 14:56  |  S 16/06/08
      36.   return of troops 15:22  |  practical 16/06/08
      37.   INDRAJAYAThey got Arabs before in return for dead Israeli POWs 15:23  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      38.   Clearcut 30 15:37  |  ChanahS 16/06/08
      39.   Kidnap MORE IDF SWINE 15:37  |  POP 16/06/08
      40.   Clickfool # 2. 15:45  |  David Nigel Braham 16/06/08
      41.   A very cheap deal 15:53  |  Tosefta 16/06/08
      42.   ARABS ARE NO MORE STUPIDS. NO ITS NOT. NO. 16:00  |  ... 16/06/08
      43.   ARABS ARE TAKING REVANGE SLOWLY BUT KNOWINGLY. 16:01  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 16/06/08
      44.   INDRAJAYA Whats the big secret? Why haven`t they said POW`s 16:04  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      45.   No Release for Mad-dog Kuntar! 16:04  |  utagawa 16/06/08
      46.   Clickfool: welcome back from your vacation to the Falklands 16:07  |  Richard S 16/06/08
      47.   CLEAR CUT Why the Arab pogroms in the 1920`s 16:09  |  PETER SM 16/06/08
      48.   The most favoured method for the Hateful Jews 16:16  |  charlie 16/06/08
      49.   Brave soldiers for a child brutal killer 16:27  |  Yosi 16/06/08
      50.   Dead or alive? A blind deal..... 16:38  |  Free Gilad Shalit 16/06/08
      51.   A very cheap deal 17:01  |  Tosefta 16/06/08
      52.   Don`t Get Your Hopes Up Yet 17:06  |  Jeff Northridge 16/06/08
      53.   Family members should stay low profile 17:11  |  Tulip 16/06/08
      54.   Sam from Sydney on his knees 17:13  |  Tulip 16/06/08
      55.   ClearCut and chosen people 17:15  |  Tulip 16/06/08
      56.   #19 Peter, I bel;ieve they are not alive too Indraya is a liar 17:30  |  Robert/Montreal 16/06/08
      57.   # 40, PETER SM 17:32  |  indrajaya 16/06/08
      58.   #32 Clearcut we are all proud Jews. Except Satmar like Yaakov 17:35  |  Robert/Montreal 16/06/08
      59.   Robert#58, Yaacov called himself a Catholic Jew. 17:46  |  Tulip 16/06/08
      60.   I have a few names for Clickfool 17:51  |  Nicole 16/06/08
      61.   I am impressed 18:27  |  jackie 16/06/08
      62.   Indrajaya we know Nasrallah for a liar who thinks he`s chosen 18:33  |  chick 16/06/08
      63.   Hope and Pray This Is Correct 18:58  |  Jane 16/06/08
      64.   Samirele did some killing (S #35) 18:59  |  Tosefta 16/06/08
      65.   #64 Yes I would reject an uncertain exchange. 19:12  |  Robert/Montreal 16/06/08
      66.   #59 Tulip Yaakov is a hater period 19:33  |  Robert/Montreal 16/06/08
      67.   #31 Zionist 20:17  |  ballistic 16/06/08
      68.   #62 Chick 20:22  |  ballistic 16/06/08
      69.   #59 Say Tulip---Torah oriented Jew? 20:29  |  ballistic 16/06/08
      70.   Ballistic is smokin` too much Tea