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August 21, 2008 8:21:17 AM CDT

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Israel Releases 5 Prisoners, 200 Bodies in Hezbollah Deal

Posted Jul 16, 08 11:39 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Israel released five Lebanese prisoners and nearly 200 bodies today, the New York Times reports, completing a deal with Hezbollah that netted the Jewish state the bodies of two of its captured soldiers. The most notable prisoner was Samir Kuntar, who had spent more than three decades in Israeli prison for murdering a 4-year-old girl. He was 16 at the time.

Kuntar has said he regrets nothing, and expects a hero’s welcome in Lebanon. All five prisoners will be flown to Beirut for such a ceremony later today. The prisoners were released only after DNA testing confirmed that the bodies Hezbollah provided belonged to the missing men, whose capture in 2006 set off a war between Israel and Lebanon.

Source New York Times

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A Hezbollah militant rides horseback during the ceremony welcoming prisoners exchanged for two dead Israeli soldiers, in Nakura, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, July 16, 2008   (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Hezbollah members hand over the bodies of two Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross to be exchanged for Lebanese prisoners held by Israel at Naqoura border point with Israel, Wednesday July 16, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Lebanese militant prisoner Samir Kantar, center, leaves the Hadarim prison near the Israeli coastal city of Netanya early Wednesday, July 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Israel Prison Authority,HO)
Personnel of the Islamic Health Committee unload boxes containing the remains of Hezbollah and Palestinian fighters as part of a prisoner swap with Israel July 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Anwar Amro, ICRC Pool)
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Israel  • Lebanon  • Hezbollah  • Lebanon War  • Israeli prisoner release  • prisoner exchange


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