Military officials believe the exhumation process will begin this Monday, or Tuesday at the latest – when a command center will be established to handle the transfer of the caskets. To this end, several reservists from the Military Rabbinate have been summoned for duty.
The identification procedure will be conducted by the rabbinate. Meanwhile, all in Israel will be closely monitoring reports from the other side and the fates of kidnapped soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
Work begins at the cemetery (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
Throughout the day the army pressed on with preparing the ground at the cemetery, clearing brush from around the graves before the bodies are exhumed.
The security measures surrounding the site, namely fences, have been reinforced to prevent civilians or journalists from accessing the cemetery.
According to the agreement with Hizbullah, which was brokered through German mediation, Israel stands to receive the much-anticipated report on the Lebanese organization's efforts to obtain information regarding missing navigator Ron Arad on Monday.
The report will be reviewed by Prime Minster Ehud Olmert, his specially appointed envoy on MIA affairs, Ofer Dekel, and various relevant cabinet ministers.
Israel, on its part, will hand over a report on the four Iranian diplomats who have been missing since the Lebanon War.
After the Arad report is approved, representatives from both sides will meet in Germany, or another European country, to sign the deal.
At this point laboratory work will begin to verify and prove the identity of those being returned, on both the Israeli and Lebanese sides. Only after this procedure is completed will the exchange take place.
According to diplomatic officials – the entire process is expected to take up to two weeks.
Meanwhile, indications that the deal is at hand are evident in reports from the Arab world as well. The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported on Sunday that the initial stage of the Hizbullah deal will take
place on Thursday, and will include the release of Samir Kuntar and three additional Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the two Israeli soldiers.
According to the report, the second stage of the deal will take place six days later, and will see Israel returning the bodies of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners. The third stage will entail Israel returning the bodies of 199 fighters, including 150 Palestinians.
Ali Waked and Roni Sofer contributed to this report
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