Prisoners Swapped in Cologne and Israel

One of largest prisoner exchanges in the history of the Middle East conflict has taken place after Israeli officials positively identified the remains the three dead soldiers in Cologne on Thursday morning that had been held by Hezbollah militants.

A plane carrying an Israeli businessmen and the remains of three Israeli soldiers handed over by Hezbollah has now left Cologne headed back to Tel Aviv. Another aircraft, carrying 29 prisoners released by Israel, has left the same airport for Beirut.

The men formerly in Israeli custody, mostly of Lebanese origin, arrived early this morning in an Israeli military aircraft under tight security. In addition to the 23 Lebanese and five Syrians was a German national, Steven Smyrek, who is suspected of being a Hezbollah agent and has been in an Israeli prison since 1997.

Two prominent figures among the Lebanese prisoners released in Germany are Hezbollah leaders Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani. Israel has described them as bargaining chips concerning the whereabouts of Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad, who bailed out of his plane during a mission in 1986.

In exchange, Israel has been given the bodies of the three soldiers -- Adi Avitan, Benyamin Avraham and Omar Sawaid -- who were abducted by Hezbollah guerillas on the border between Lebanon and Israel in 2000. After the handover the bodies of the Israeli soldiers are due to return to Israel for a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Shaoul Mofaz.

Businessman freed

Hezbollah also released Tannenbaum, an Israeli businessman and reserve colonel who was taken hostage by the militant group three years ago during a trip to Beirut.

Tannenbaum told reporters he had gone to Lebanon on business and for information on Arad. Although the businessman appeared to have grayed during his years in captivity, he said Hezbollah had treated him well.

After Tannenbaum's return to Israel, he will be reunited with his family and questioned by Israeli authorities.

Hours before the exchange, a suicide bomber blew himself up in central Jerusalem, killing at least ten people and breaking a month-long lull in suicide bombings. Israeli officials vowed the swap would take place nevertheless.

The trade was made possible after three years of behind-the-scenes negotiations mediated by German officials under the leadership of intelligence chief Ernst Uhrlau.

After the swap was made, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer thanked the intelligence and security services for their work on making the exchange a success. He did not want to comment directly on the operation, besides saying that he was glad Germany could help in the situation.

"Evidently Germany enjoys the necessary trust of both sides," he said.

Hundreds More Released in Israel

Under the same deal, the first of 400 Palestinian prisoners left the prison of Ketziot in Israel's Negev desert on buses Thursday heading toward checkpoints Gaza and the West Bank.

Additional busses with prisoners headed toward other locations are expected to leave throughout the day. Most of the detainees had been arrested during the past three years of conflict in the region.

By early afternoon, some 130 of the prisoners had walked to freedom through a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Tulkarem, where they were met by a local governor.

Israel has also promised to turn over the bodies of 59 Hezbollah fighters.

While Palestinians were jubilant about having their loved ones back, others in Israel criticized the releases, saying they could encourage more kidnappings by Hezbollah, which both Israel and Washington have branded as a terrorist organization.