Israel approves prisoner swap with Hezbollah

"Despite all hesitations, after weighing the pros and the cons, I support the agreement," army radio quoted Olmert as saying at a cabinet meeting held to vote on the proposed deal.

 

The exchange would entail the release of Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser or their remains in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.

 

"Our initial theory was that the soldiers were alive ... Now we know with certainty there is no chance that that is the case," army radio quoted Olmert as saying.

 

With the coalition government expected to reach a decision later on Sunday, Olmert urged his cabinet to vote in favor of the proposed deal "despite its high price."

 

Regev and Goldwasser were captured in a deadly Hezbollah cross-border raid on July 12, 2006 that sparked a 34-day war in Lebanon.

 

They are believed to have been badly wounded during their capture and Hezbollah, which is backed by Tehran and Damascus, has never provided any evidence they may be alive.

 

In Beirut, there was no immediate reaction from Hezbollah to Olmert’s comments.

 

The proposed deal has drawn criticism because it is believed to include the release of Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar, who is currently serving a life sentence for killing two men and a four-year-old girl in a 1979 attack in northern Israel.

 

Kantar, a member of the Palestine Liberation Front, was sentenced in 1980 to 542 years in prison.

 

If the swap goes ahead, Israel will reportedly release another four Lebanese prisoners and hand over the remains of Hezbollah fighters buried in the Jewish state.

 

Most cabinet ministers, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, also came out in favor of the deal, despite reservations expressed by the country’s intelligence services.

 

"As a soldier, as an officer who commanded in combat, as defense minister, I consider we have a supreme responsibility to bring back our sons, dead or alive," he said in a statement before Sundays meeting.

 

"I hope the government will give its green light to this reasonable accord as Hezbollah has backtracked, giving up its request for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners," Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon told public radio.

 

Education Minister Yuli Tamir said all of her Labor party colleagues would support the proposed deal if a vote was taken. She said it would take 10 days to two weeks before a swap could take place.

 

On June 1, Israel freed and deported to Lebanon a convicted Hezbollah spy and the Shiite militant group handed over the remains of other Israeli soldiers killed in 2006.

 

Photo: AFP