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kidnapped IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser.
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| By israelinsider staff April 25, 2007 |
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The United Arab Emirates newspaper Al-Ittihad reported Wednesday that a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbullah, for the two IDF soldiers held by the terrorist group, will be finalized before the summer ends.
Al-Ittihad claimed that the talks are at the stage of "determining names" of prisoners for the exchange.
According to the paper, a German intelligence official known as "Meyer" has been mediating between Beirut and Jerusalem in order to speed up the negotiation process, Israel Radio announced.
According to the report, Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, has demanded that Israel release Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, and Palestinian prisoners, in return for IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who were captured in a raid along the Lebanese border in July 2006.
Al-Ittihad reported that one of the main points of departure between the two sides is the state of the two IDF soldiers being held by Hizbullah.
Until now, Hizbullah has not given Israel any information about the condition of the two soldiers and Israel is demanding that Hizbullah provide proof that they are alive before the negotiations continue.
Hizbullah has refused to comply, saying that Israel must free prisoners in order to find out whether the soldiers are alive. Among the prisoners Hizbullah is demanding is Samir Kuntar, the Lebanese terrorist convicted of murdering a man, his four-year-old daughter, and a policeman in Nahariya in 1979.
The Israeli representatives in the negotiations are being led by Ofer Dekel, who was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
According to Haaretz, it is impossible to determine whether the report is true or not, as it was written by a reporter in Beirut and cites political sources. |
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