The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah. A total of 22 ministers voted in favor of deal. Three ministers objected the deal.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recommended to his cabinet that it approve the deal to recover two soldiers whose capture triggered the 2006 Lebanon war. Ahead of a vote on the German-mediated deal, Olmert told ministers he backed releasing jailed Lebanese prisoners in exchange for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev despite his belief that the two army reservists did not survive their capture, cabinet sources said.
In earlier broadcast remarks, Olmert described the proposed swap as "a matter of the highest moral order" and said he had "vacillated deeply" after hearing arguments Israel should return only the bodies of slain Lebanese if its troops were dead.
"We know what happened to them," Olmert said, according to a prepared statement given to the Cabinet and released by his office. "As far as we know, the soldiers Regev and Goldwasser are not alive."
Israel has offered to release five Lebanese fighters and repatriate the remains of around 10 dead infiltrators for Goldwasser and Regev, Reuters reported. Topping the release is Samir Qantar, who is serving a life sentence for a 1979 border raid
