Israel in prisoner swap with Hezbollah

An Israeli government official has said that the government has approved a deal with Hezbollah that would involve exchanging prisoners for two kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

The Cabinet approved the measure with 22 ministers voting for it and three ministers voting against it, the official said.

Before the vote, Olmert told his Cabinet Sunday that two Israeli soldiers Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are not alive, "as far as we know."

Under the deal, Israel will release five Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Kuntar, who has been serving four life sentences in Israel for a 1979 attack in which he killed a four-year-old girl and her father, a government official said. The deal will also include returning the remains of several slain border infiltrators, the official said.

© Kelly Thornton - NewsGirl.Org