The Israeli Air Force Boeing 707 lands in Cologne

COLOGNE, Germany (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A complex and  landmark prisoners swap deal between the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah and Israel was proceeding successfully Thursday, January 29, in Germany.

Flying in from Beirut, a German military plane carrying Israeli reserve colonel Elhanan Tannenbaum and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers landed at the military part of Cologne-Wahn airport at about 6:55 am, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

An Israeli aircraft with round 30 Arab prisoners and a German national aboard touched down minutes later.

Television images showed the two aircraft parked side by side, and the Luftwaffe Airbus later being taken out of the hangar.

The German government remained mum on what has so far been an intricate operation, the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes mediation by German officials.

Hizbullah and Israel have thrashed out last week a landmark prisoners exchange agreement following nearly three years of painstaking German-sponsored  negotiations.

Tannenbaum said he was well treated by Hizbullah (AFP)

Under the deal, Hizbullah has also agreed to give, within three months, information on the fate of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman who went missing in southern Lebanon in 1986.

The Arab prisoners, including 23 Lebanese and five Syrians, were released from Israel's Rimonim prison, north of Tel Aviv, aboard a bus whose windows were blacked out and were escorted by special police units, an AFP correspondent said.

The most prominent among the Lebanese, some held for more than a decade, are Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani, who were kidnapped by Israeli forces in 1989 and 1994 respectively.

Dirani told a Tel Aviv court Tuesday, January 27, he had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by his Israeli interrogators.

Recalling being shackled and pushed down onto a bench, he lamented: "I couldn't see or resist ... I was raped by the (Israeli) soldier. He said he would rape me, and he did."

Despite the several happy faces, there was bitterness that the longest-serving prisoner, Samir Al-Qantar, was not to be freed yet.

His release could hinge on whether Israel gets information on airman Arad which could be done in two to three months.

Before the prisoner exchange began, Hizbullah television channel Al Manar aired an interview with Tannenbaum for the first time since the announcement of his captivity in October 2000.

Speaking in Hebrew and looking relaxed, Tannenbaum said he had gone to Beirut three years ago to try to obtain information on the fate of Arad.

He had been kept in detention by Hizbullah since then, he said, confirming he had been treated well by Hizbullah, who also allowed him to continue his medical treatment.

Israeli press reports said he was suffering from a serious skin ailment.

Palestinian

A released Palestinian prisoner displays his art work made during his stay in an Israeli prison (AFP)

Shortly after its officials identified the bodies of Israeli soldiers Adi Avitan, Benyamin Avraham and Omar Sawaid at the airport, Israel began releasing 400 Palestinian prisoners at five checkpoints into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, reported Reuters.

"Thank God for our freedom. We hope that all prisoners will be released," said Mohammed Abu Hadas, who served 14 months for belonging to an Islamic group as he returned to Gaza.

"We are happy, but our present happiness will be completed when all prisoners in Israeli jails are released."

Reuters put the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons at some 7,500, though the Palestinians argue the number is higher.

In the West Bank, motorists blared their horns and people on the street waved as buses carried the prisoners past Israeli checkpoints.

Palestinian families were jubilant to have their loved ones back.

"I am so excited. I want to hug my son because I have not seen him for so long. I want to find a wife for him now," said Azem Dweik, waiting for his son in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil (Hebron).