Israeli Cabinet Approves Hezbollah/IDF Prisoner Exchange

The Israeli Cabinet voted 22-3 in favor of a deal to swap a top level Lebanese prison for the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped back in 2006. Earlier in the day, the Israeli government declared that the two IDF soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, are dead. So, this is a deal to get back the remains of the two Israeli soldiers.

Here's some of the details from Breitbart:

Israel's Cabinet overwhelmingly voted in favor of a deal Sunday with Hezbollah to swap a notorious Lebanese prisoner for two captured soldiers who were declared dead earlier in the day.
The proposed deal also needs the approval of the Lebanese militant group's secretive, decision-making Shura Council.
The agreement had sparked a fierce public debate over whether Israel would be giving up too much or carrying out its highest commitment to its soldiers to do everything possible to bring them home if they fell into enemy hands.
The Cabinet debated the deal for nearly six hours before voting 22-3 to back the agreement, said Olmert's spokesman, Jacob Galanti. There was no immediate reaction from the soldiers' families or Hezbollah.

I, personally, am in favor of this swap. The Israelis have always been adamant about retrieving their captured soldiers whether they are dead or alive, but at the same time, I take the stance that once the exchange is made, that retribution is back on the table. Not only did Hezbollah kidnap these two soldiers in a cowardly act, they have refused for two years to allow the Red Cross to determine if the prisoners were alive or being well cared for. Once the bodies of those two soldiers are back in Israel, I would propose that Israel takes all measures to take out the Lebanese prisoner they release and also, at least two key Hezbollah leaders be targeted - two dead IDF equals two dead Hezbollah leaders.

The signal needs to be sent that in the future, for any IDF soldier captured, a Hezbollah leader will die.

Israeli Cabinet approves Hezbollah prisoner deal

Hezbollah had offered no sign that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were alive and the Red Cross was never allowed to see them.
Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said for the first time that Israel has concluded the two soldiers were dead—killed during the raid or shortly after.
"We know what happened to them," Olmert said, according to a prepared statement given to the Cabinet and released by his office. "As far as we know, the soldiers Regev and Goldwasser are not alive."
Goldwasser's father, Shlomo, said he was not surprised by the declaration, but wanted proof the soldiers were dead.
"There have been assessments for a long time," he said. "But none of this matters because it is not fact. ... They were alive when they (were) kidnapped and no one has provided us with evidence to the contrary."
In Beirut, Lebanon, Hezbollah said the Israeli decision reflected the guerrilla group's strength.
"What happened in the prisoners issue is a proof that the word of the resistance is the most faithful, strongest and supreme," the group's Al-Manar TV quoted Hezbollah's Executive Council chief Hashem Safieddine as saying.
Israeli media said the soldiers' bodies would be sent to Germany and identified by Israel before Kantar is released. The identification process and swap are expected to take 10 to 14 days, Israeli media reported.
Germany has been trying to mediate a prisoner exchange since Israel's war with Lebanon ended in August 2006.