Israel and Hezbollah set to swap prisoners

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group were set to swap prisoners on Wednesday two years after the two sides fought a month-long war.

Under a deal mediated by a German intelligence officer, Israel was to free five prisoners in exchange for two soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas in a 2006 cross-border raid, who are widely presumed dead, government officials said.

Israel will also hand over the bodies of 200 Arabs killed while infiltrating northern Israel, and Hezbollah will return the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had been asked by both Israel and Hezbollah to arrange the exchange, due to begin around 9:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Wednesday, in a complex process that could take hours.

Hezbollah was expected to hand over the soldiers, and only after they were identified, Israel would begin to free prisoners and guerrillas' remains to Lebanon, Israeli media said.

A Lebanese security source said it may take until Thursday to complete the transfer of all the guerrillas' remains.

"We think, we hope, especially, it is possible to do it in one day. But it's definitely going to be a long day," Jordi Raich, head of the International Committee for the Red Cross in Lebanon told Reuters.

The Israeli army said it had sealed the border area late on Tuesday night in preparation for the exchange.