Israeli approves prisoner swap

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won his cabinet’s approval on Sunday 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 U.N.-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," Olmert said in a broadcast statement... [read full story]