Hizbullah, Israel confirm completing prisoners deal

Each of the Hizbullah and Israel confirmed officially the completion of the prisoners exchange deal among themselves, which will be completed in two phases, the first one to start on Thursday.

In a press conference in Beirut, the secretary general of the Lebanese Hizbullah party, Hassan Nasrullah ,said that the exchange agreement with Israel will be completed on January 29th and will include Israeli prisoners who are not held by Israel, noting by that to the missing Israeli pilot Ron Arad.

Nasrullah stressed that some 23 Lebanese will be released, including Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid and Sheikh Mustafa al-Deirani as well as Arab and Palestinian detainees, and the second phase will be for the release of all detainees held by Israel.

He indicated that committees will be formed from sides involved in searching the fate of Arad and the four Iranian diplomats who disappeared in Lebanon in 1982.

According to the Israeli mass media, Tel Aviv will release some 400 Palestinian detainees and 23 Lebanese, five Syrians, three Moroccans, Three Sudanese and one Libyan as well as the German Steven Smirk who was detained since 1997.

Israel vowed to provide information to Hizbullah Party on the fate of 24 missing, and return back the bodies of 59 fighters, and will also hand over the Hizbullah party maps of the landmine fields in South Lebanon.

Nasrullah called on the Arab states to sent names of Arabs in the Israeli jails not in the current lists.

The secretary general of the Hizbullah Party admitted the difficulty to solve the problem of the Palestinian prisoners who are not from the West Bank and Gaza and those who carry the Israeli nationality.

As for the Lebanese prisoner Sameer al-Qintar, Nasrullah said that Israel gave up an earlier agreement with the German mediator to releasing him in the first phase, but expressed optimism over releasing him in the second phase. He added that a people and official welcome will be held for the released prisoners at Beirut's International Airport while the bodies will be hand over at the Lebanese - Israeli borders.

The secretary general of the Hizbullah party expressed thanks to the German mediator and to the Lebanese and Syrian governments who provided support for the Lebanese resistance. He refused to give details about the deal where some clauses will be kept secret.

For his part, the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon stressed his government's completing of the prisoners exchange. He said during the weekly session of the government that the decision was taken "with difficulty," describing it as "moral and responsible."

The Lebanese President stressed yesterday that the consent of Tel Aviv to exchange prisoners through negotiations constituted an Israeli recognition that Hizbullah party is not a "terrorist," and the resistance it practices is "legal and patriotic." Lahoud said what had happened was a great victory to Lebanon, the resistance and the Palestinian people and the Arab as a whole, and a completion to the march of liberation which started by Israel's withdrawal in 2000 from most of the occupied Lebanese territories."

The Palestinian authority cautiously welcomed the agreement. Nabil Abu Rudinah, the advisor of the Palestinian President described the agreement as an important achievement but he said that "the Palestinian side was not consulted concerning the names of whom will be released among the Palestinians." At the Israeli level, the leftist parties welcomed the deal but the rightist parties regretted what had happened.