By Prensa Latina,
Tel Aviv : The Israeli Government ratified on Tuesday a prisoner exchange agreement with Lebanese Shiite group Hizballah, a decision seen by both parties as a victory over their enemy.
Israeli Radio and the Jerusalem Post daily confirmed that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert okayed the pact for the release of five Lebanese people in exchange for at least two soldiers captured in Lebanon in 2006.
The ratification came despite rejection of Israeli intelligence services chiefs, who considered insufficient a report provided a few days ago by Hizballah about the fate of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, missing in 1986.
That’s why the official communiqué includes a call to continue efforts to gather additional information about Arad’s wherabouts, as his plane was downed during a military incursion in Lebanon.
The prisoner exchange has been scheduled for 9:00 local time Wednesday at the Rosh Hanikra border checkpoint after pardon is granted by Israeli President Shimon Peres.