Israel set to exchange prisoners with Hezbollah guerrillas

ISRAEL yesterday released the names of prisoners to be freed in a swap with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, after soldiers started exhuming the bodies of Lebanese fighters to be returned as part of the deal.

The three-part list includes 371 Palestinian prisoners, 60 Palestinians being held without trial and 30 Lebanese, other Arabs and a German citizen. The lists were posted on the Israeli prison service's internet web site.

The list of Lebanese included the two most prominent inmates to be freed guerrilla leaders Mustafa Dirani and Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid, abducted from south Lebanon in 1994 and 1989 respectively.