Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won his cabinet's approval today for a prisoner swap with Hezbollah under which two soldiers held by the Lebanese guerrilla group, and believed to be dead, would be recovered.
The seizure of army reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in a July 2006 border ambush triggered a month-long war in Lebanon, with Olmert ruling out talks on their return. He then relented, negotiating through a UN-appointed German mediator.
Political sources said that a majority of ministers convened at the weekly cabinet meeting approved a swap under which Israel would free five jailed Lebanese guerrillas, and repatriate the remains of around 10 slain infiltrators, for the soldiers.
"This is a matter of the highest moral order," Mr Olmert said in a broadcast statement before the debate. He said he had "vacillated deeply" over the deal after hearing arguments Israel should return only bodies to Hezbollah if its troops were dead.
In Beirut, a Lebanese political source said the deal could take place "within a few days".
Topping the Israeli release roster is Samir Qantar, who is serving a life sentence for a 1979 raid and whom the Olmert government previously described as the last "bargaining chip" for the return of missing air force navigator Ron Arad.
Hezbollah has said little about the indirect talks.