<i>Der Spiegel</i>: Hizbullah approves draft of prisoner swap proposal

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Hizbullah has approved a prisoner swap proposal drafted by German mediator Gerhard Konrad, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday. The first stage of the reported draft consists of Israel handing over convicted killer Samir Kuntar, four other Hizbullah prisoners, the bodies of Hizbullah guerrillas and maps of mines planted by the IDF in southern Lebanon. In exchange, Hizbullah will hand over the bodies of IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser - who are considered dead according to the report - and information about the whereabouts of Ron Arad. The report claimed that the second stage of the deal would involve Israel freeing dozens of Palestinian prisoners. The German magazine said that Konrad had shuttled between Beirut and Jerusalem in the last week and had reported progress in the prisoner swap negotiations. It said that Israel was yet to agree to the proposal. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report, but Israel has remained silent on recent reports of a prisoner swap deal.