NEW Cease-Fire Agreement and Prisoner Exchange-Set For Friday

[kpete]

Last update - 04:34 01/08/2006

Israel ready to swap 2 Hezbollah captives for IDF soldiers

By Aluf Benn and Shlomo Shamir

Israel will release two Lebanese prisoners in return for the two soldiers abducted by Hezbollah, as part of a cease-fire agreement, government and defense officials said on Monday.

The sources added that the UN Security Council would call for a cease-fire in Lebanon on Friday, and it could take effect as early as Saturday.

Alternatively, the fighting might continue for a few more days.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told British Prime Minister Tony Blair that as soon as an international force deploys along the Israel-Lebanon and Lebanon-Syria borders, "it will be possible to implement a cease-fire."


Immediately after soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were captured, Olmert said that Israel would not negotiate a prisoner exchange for their release  a position he also took following the abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit in the Gaza Strip. Olmert's position received international support in the concluding statement issued by the G-8 summit, which called for the unconditional return of all Israeli captives.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/744888.html

[spindrifter]

1. This is pretty confusing:

on the one hand, it appears that a cease fire is in the works. France has sent Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to Lebanon for talks prior to the EU talks tomorrow, and Lebanese P.M. Siniora will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=74409
Meanwhile, Israel is activating 15,000 more troops in order to widen its ground attacks on Lebanon, although it is not clear whether these troops were previously authorized or newly authorized. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/31/mideast.main/index.html

What does seem clear is that Condi's diplomatic efforts have been supplanted by efforts from Europe to achieve an immediate cease fire and the Israeli government is by no means Condi's poodle.

[mom cat]

2. Isreal will only stop when they are ready.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Well then, I am sure it makes the parents of dead children

feel much better....:sarcasm:
Should have been done in the first place.