Israel's cabinet has overwhelmingly approved a deal to trade a senior Lebanese militant for two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah guerrillas and believed to be dead.
The swap is due to take place tomorrow under UN supervision at a seaside border crossing.
Hizbullah has given no evidence that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are alive, and has not allowed the Red Cross to see them since they were captured in a July 2006 cross-border raid. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet last month that Israel believes the men did not survive.
The deal, approved in a 22-3 vote, reflects the country's commitment to its soldiers that they will never be left behind in the field. It also will close a painful chapter from Israel's inconclusive war against Hizbullah, which was sparked by the soldiers' capture.
Zvi Regev said he was holding out hope his son might still be alive.
"I really hope this nightmare will end tomorrow," he told Israel Radio. "We will accept whatever will be. We need to be strong and accept it for better or for worse."
Critics have said that by trading bodies for prisoners, Israel is giving militants little incentive to keep captured soldiers alive. And although polls suggest a large majority of Israelis support the exchange, many Israelis were anguished at the prospect that Samir Kantar would go free.
Kantar is serving multiple life terms for the 1979 killing of an Israeli policeman, a civilian and his four-year-old daughter in Israel. Israeli President Shimon Peres is expected to sign a document pardoning Kantar this evening.
"It's not a happy choice," Mr Peres said before the Cabinet vote. "On one hand, we have the most terrible murderer. On the other hand, we have our commitment to our boys who were sent to fight for their country. It is our moral duty and our heartfelt wish to see them come back."
Palestinian gunmen affiliated with Gaza's ruling Hamas group seized Sgt Gilad Schalit three weeks before Hizbullah captured the two soldiers from Israel's northern border.
AP