Israel plans to release five Lebanese citizens detained by its army in southern Lebanon as part of ongoing negotiations with Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Thursday.
The decision was made amid extensive efforts by both Lebanese and Israeli sides to locate the remains of members of Lebanon's Jewish community who were abducted and killed by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s.
The Israeli statement said that, following interrogations, it was determined that the five are civilians, do not belong to a terrorist organization and had not participated in terrorist activities. There was therefore "no reason to continue holding them in Israel."
Lebanese security sources said Israel had already released one of the five, with the others expected to be released in the coming hours. The Hezbollah militia did not immediately comment.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the return of the Lebanese detainee, saying that the safe return of any Lebanese citizen to the country was an important step toward resolving the issue.
Salam thanked the US administration for its efforts in the matter, adding that Lebanon would continue working for the release of all Lebanese detainees, the clarification of the fate of those missing and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
"However difficult the negotiating process may appear, we will continue to mobilize all necessary efforts to safeguard Lebanon's rights and the interests of the Lebanese people, particularly our people in the south," Salam said.