Ministers set to back deal despite Arad report
Government sources estimate cabinet to approve prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah securing release of kidnapped soldiers Regev and Goldwasser, despite Lebanese organization's failure to provide sufficient information on missing navigator's fate
The swap deal was approved by the government in principle about two weeks ago, under the condition that Hizbullah submits a report including information on Ron Arad, who went missing in 1988, about two years after being captured by the Amal organization in Lebanon.
The Hizbullah report, received as part of the second stage of a previous swap deal, was handed over to heads of Israel's intelligence agencies – the Shin Bet, the Mossad and the Military intelligence. The three intelligence chiefs will present their conclusions to the government, which will be asked to approve the implementation of the deal.
New photo of Ron Arad received Saturday
Senior source in Shas noted that the party ministers will wait to hear the intelligence assessments during the cabinet meeting, but a Shas official estimated that "the ministers will not change their mind and will vote in favor of the deal."
Barak 'committed to return Regev and Goldwasser'
Defense Minister Ehud Barak referred Sunday to the Hizbullah report, saying "it does not provide a clear answer regarding Ron Arad's fate and does not solve the issue. We are committed to continue working and inquiring about his fate.
"Despite all this, as defense ministers and a former chief of staff and commander, I have a command and moral duty to continue advancing the return of (kidnapped soldiers) Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser back home."
In light of Barak's remarks, Labor ministers are also likely to support the swap deal. The defense minister has been stressing for weeks that the defense establishment and the State bear the responsibility to return the captives home, and has even postponed a planned trip to the United States this week.
The support for the deal seems stable in Kadima as well. Aides to Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter clarified Sunday night that he would back the deal, and Kadima sources estimate all other party ministers will back it as well.
It is possible, however, that some ministers will decide to abstain as a symbolic sign of protest for Ron Arad.
The Israel Prison Service on Sunday published a list containing the names of the Lebanese prisoners currently behind bars in Israel, who are to be released over the next few days as part of the prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah. The list appears on the service's website.
One of the prisoners on the list is Samir Kuntar, who was sentenced to life plus 40 years in prison for murdering three family members and a police officer in Nahariya in 1979.
