Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Sunday that the transfer of the remains of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War is a unilateral move on the part of Hezbollah.
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem confirmed that its representatives had received a box containing the remains of IDF soldiers at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing.
Olmert's office claimed that it is not connected to the convicted Hezbollah spy Nissim Nasser's release from detention or to any other kind of deal with the militant organization.
Earlier on Sunday, Nasser was released by Israel after serving a six-year jail term for spying for Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based al-Manar television reported.
Israeli authorities handed him over to representatives from the Red Cross and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing. He was to return to Lebanon later in the day.
The website of Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported that Nasser's release might be linked to German mediation efforts to secure a prisoner swap between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group, which would include the return of kidnapped Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser and the release of six Lebanese prisoners, including the longest-detained Samir Kuntar.
However, Israeli security authorities and Olmert's office have said the handover is not connected to any future prisoner exchange.
Source:Xinhua
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