Israeli political and press sources claimed that there has been progress to complete the prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah. They echoed Hizbullah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah's assertion during his speech Monday afternoon.
Reports of a deal inching closer to finalization began to spread after Nasrallah made his speech in Beirut in which he said "(Samir) Kintar and other Lebanese prisoners will soon return to Lebanon." "Releasing the prisoners is our duty and it is our holy mission," Nasrallah said. Kuntar is a Lebanese fighter currently imprisoned in Israel for the 1979 killing of a family and a policeman.
A source involved in the negotiations told German news agency DPA on Monday that "all we can say is that the German mediator has managed to remove some of the obstacles on the way to finalizing a deal."
Israeli Channel 1 TV reported that "Israel will free Samir Kintar and Nassim Nisr who is accused of spying for Hizbullah, as well as four Hizbullah members and 10 bodies for Hizbullah members in return for the two captured soldiers whose fate remains unclear knowing that there is pessimism over their fate."
Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper quoted a senior security source as saying that the swap deal with Hizbullah is yet far off. The source added that some details and obstacles remain unsolved. Another source quoted by Haaretz said that hopes should be so high, "however there is progress in talks but not yet a breakthrough. Israel is still waiting for Hezbollah's response on a set of proposals, yet Nasrallah's speech Monday could signal to the party's approval on them."
In the meantime, Nasim Nisr's lawyer said that Israeli officials informed her that Nisr will be freed and sent back to Lebanon through the Naqura crossing next Sunday. In 2002, Nasr was sentenced to a six-year prison term after being tried for spying for Hizbullah. He completed his jail term on April 29, but remained in custody under administrative detention – possibly hoping he could be used as a bartering chip in the negotiations.
Nasr's attorney, Smadar Ben-Natan, told Ynet that "the timing is not incidental. Israel could have transferred him to Lebanon several weeks ago, but now the delayed release has been made to appear as an Israeli gesture."
