Israel to free 5 Lebanese detainees in return for Jewish remains search

Activists and relatives of detainees in Israeli prisons carry pictures of Lebanese prisoners during a protest outside the Lebanese Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, in January. File Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Israel said Thursday it decided to release five Lebanese it captured during the war in southern Lebanon in exchange for Beirut's recent assistance in efforts to locate and return the remains of Lebanese Jewish community figures killed in Lebanon in the 1980s. A Lebanese Army source confirmed to UPI that the Army received the first detainee, identified as Malek Ghazi, from the International Committee of the Red Cross after Israel handed him over to the Red Cross at the Naqoura crossing on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Ghazi reportedly disappeared in southern Lebanon almost a year ago. The remaining four detainees were expected to be freed in the coming hours, according to a security source. It was not immediately clear whether the five men were among an estimated 36 Lebanese detainees held by Israel, which has refused to confirm their number or fate and has denied the Red Cross and medical organizations access to assess their conditions and provide care. A statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the releases were approved after "it became clear" that the five men were not members "of a terror organization, were not involved in terrorism and there is no reason to continue holding them in Israel." The reference was to Iran-backed Hezbollah. The statement, run by Israeli English-language websites, said the move followed "actions" taken by both Lebanon and Israel to locate the bodies of community leaders in Lebanon who were kidnapped and killed by Shiite groups at the height of the country's civil war in the mid-1980s. It said Lebanon had assisted in the search for their remains, noting that a significant number had been buried in Jewish cemeteries in Beirut and Sidon. It added that Netanyahu has instructed Israeli officials participating in the ongoing U.S.-brokered direct negotiations with Lebanon to intensify efforts and seek to resolve the decades-old cases of several prominent members of the Lebanese Jewish community whose bodies have never been recovered. According to the statement, efforts to locate the bodies have intensified in recent months, with Israel and Lebanon "undertaking searches and other measures, including operations on the ground." No details were released about where the operations took place or whether investigators had identified possible burial sites. The Jerusalem Post reported Israel provided Lebanese officials with maps and photographs of cemeteries, along with other potential sites, to help determine whether they contain the remains. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the safe return of any Lebanese detainee to his homeland constitutes "an important step" toward addressing the issue of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, and he thanked the U.S. administration, particularly U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, for efforts in trying to resolve the issue. Salam emphasized that however difficult the negotiating process may seem, work would continue until all Lebanese detainees are released, the fate of the missing is established and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory is achieved. Israeli media reports also quoted an Israeli official as saying that the release of the five detainees was "a goodwill gesture" to the Beirut government. The official said the move was discussed this week during a meeting in Jerusalem between Netanyahu, Issa and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, despite Israel's "dissatisfaction" with the Lebanese army's lack of progress in clearing Hezbollah infrastructure from villages in the pilot zone in southern Lebanon. Read More Lebanese House Speaker warns of 'existential risks' Lebanese President says his country's stability is essential to Europe's Analysis: With UNIFIL set to leave, Lebanon seeks U.N.-backed successor