Saudi Cultural Week kicks off in Osaka to mark 70 years of Saudi-Japanese ties    Tourism Ministry shuts 10 unlicensed travel agencies in Riyadh    Saudi authorities arrest over 21,000 residency and labor violators in one week    Saudi graduates see record job market entry in 2024    Israeli defense minister boasts destruction of Beit Hanoun amid Gaza offensive    Von der Leyen vows to defend EU interests after Trump announces 30% tariffs    PKK lay down arms in northern Iraq in symbolic disarmament    U.S. judge blocks immigration arrests in Los Angeles over racial profiling claims    CMA approves major reforms to ease investment account access for foreign and local investors    Saudi Arabia reaffirms OPEC+ compliance as June crude supply hits 9.35 million bpd    Riyadh's Creative District to welcome Italy's Istituto Marangoni    France's Lady Liberty artwork goes viral as a new Statue of Liberty could be in the works    Saudi population reaches 35.3 million in 2024, majority under 65    Abdullah Al-Qaisoom wins silver at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship    Aubameyang's future at Al Qadsiah in doubt after cryptic post comparing Saudi League strikers    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    SFDA approves 'Winrevair' for rare pulmonary hypertension treatment    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Israel approves prisoner swap with Hezbollah
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 30 - 06 - 2008

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won his cabinet's approval on Sunday for a prisoner swap with Hezbollah under which two soldiers held by the Lebanese guerrilla group, and believed to be dead, would be recovered.
The seizure of army reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in a July 2006 border ambush triggered a month-long war in Lebanon, with Olmert ruling out talks on their return. He then relented, negotiating through a UN-appointed German mediator.
Political sources said that a majority of ministers convened at the weekly cabinet meeting approved a swap under which Israel would free five jailed Lebanese guerrillas, and repatriate the remains of around 10 slain infiltrators, for the soldiers.
"This is a matter of the highest moral order," Olmert said in a broadcast statement before the debate. He said he had "vacillated deeply" over the deal after hearing arguments Israel should return only bodies to Hezbollah if its troops were dead.
In Beirut, a Lebanese political source said the deal could take place "within a few days".
Topping the Israeli release roster is Samir Qantar, who is serving a life sentence for a 1979 raid and whom the Olmert government previously described as the last "bargaining chip" for the return of missing air force navigator Ron Arad.
Hezbollah has said little about the indirect talks.
Bloodstains and blast damage at the scene of the Hezbollah raid in which Goldwasser and Regev were taken to Lebanon prompted Israeli officials to conclude that one or both of the captives did not survive. Eight other troops died outright.
Hezbollah has given no details on the captives' condition.
Israel reopens crossing
for goods to Gaza
Israel on Sunday reopened a Gaza border crossing point to allow commercial goods into the Palestinian enclave which had been sealed off after militants fired rockets in violation of a truce.
"Between 60 and 70 trucks carrying mainly humanitarian aid should go through the Sufa border crossing today," said defense spokesman Gil Karie, adding that Sufa reopened in the morning.
Israeli officials were to decide later whether to also reopen the Karni terminal that has been mainly used to deliver grain to Gaza since Israel imposed an embargo on the Islamist Hamas-run territory. The Nahal Oz terminal, which handles most of the fuel supplies destined for the Gaza Strip, reopened on Friday.


Clic here to read the story from its source.