Lebanon's prime minister says prisoner swap with Israel being considered
By Associated Press August 31, 2006
Lebanon's prime minister said Thursday that a prisoner swap with Israel was being considered by his government but "nothing has materialized."
Fuad Saniora said Lebanon was "continuing the contacts" with Israel about a possible swap in which two Israeli soldiers would be released in exchange for all Lebanese detainees in Israeli prisons.
"The matter is being looked after," he told reporters in Stockholm. "There is nothing really that has materialized so this matter is going to be of considerable interest by the Lebanese government."
Israel has demanded the return of two soldiers, whose capture by Hezbollah guerrillas in a July 12 raid triggered 34 days of fighting.
Saniora said Lebanon was interested in seeing the return of all detainees, "in other words the abducted soldiers as well as the Lebanese detainees that have been in Israeli prisons for over 28 years."
"I hope the Israeli government will respond to the call of reason so that we can finish with this and everybody will return to his home," he said.
United Nations envoys are also trying to secure the release of the two Israeli soldiers, and Vijay Nambiar, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special adviser, said last week that Israel may be warming to the idea of trading Lebanese prisoners it holds in exchange.
Israeli military officials have said Israel is holding 13 Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of dozens of guerrillas that it could swap for the two captive soldiers.
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