Israeli Prime Minister’s Office:
As part of the negotiations with Lebanon, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed officials to advance efforts to locate and return the bodies of the leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community—the martyrs who were abducted and murdered by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s.
The Prime Minister has been involved in this issue for decades, dating back to his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
In recent months, numerous efforts have been undertaken to locate them, by both Lebanon and Israel, including operations on the ground. In light of these significant efforts, it was decided to release five Lebanese civilians who had been detained in areas of southern Lebanon under IDF control. After their questioning was completed, it was determined that they are civilians who are not members of a terrorist organization, were not involved in terrorism, and that there is no reason to continue holding them in Israel.
The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam, is trying to take credit for the release of the 5 Lebanese:
The safe return to their homeland of every Lebanese who was released is an important step on the path to addressing this issue. I thank the American administration, and especially Ambassador Michel Issa, for the efforts made on this matter.
We will continue to act until the release of all our prisoners, clarification of the fate of the missing, and the achievement of a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Those to be released are 2 Syrians and 2 Lebanese - Ali Shour, Hussein Ayash, Asaad al-Khasikha, and Wissam Ibrahim al-Samawi.
