Israel to swap prisoners with Hezbollah on Wednesday

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government said it will swap prisoners with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah on Wednesday, closing a chapter between the enemies two years after they fought an inconclusive war.

On Sunday, the prison service said Israel would free five Lebanese, including the perpetrator of one of the most notorious attacks in Israeli history. In exchange, Hezbollah will return two soldiers it captured in a cross-border raid that sparked the 2006 war. Israel believes the soldiers are dead.

After nearly two years of negotiations through German mediators, Israel's government approved the release June 29, but it took several weeks to work out final arrangements.

-- AP