Events leading up to Israel-Hizbullah prisoner exchange

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
July 12, 2006 - The IDF amasses troops along the northern border in preparation for a major military operation against Hizbullah and the Lebanese government in response to the kidnapping of IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev and the deaths of eight others earlier in the day. August 7, 2006 - The IDF captures one of the Hizbullah gunmen behind the kidnapping of Goldwasser and Regev. September 5, 2006 - Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says he does not regret the capture of Goldwasser and Regev. January 12, 2007 - Goldwasser's mother Miki and the Regev family visit the northern border close to the site where Hizbullah kidnapped the two soldiers. February 14, 2007 - Relatives seeking information on the abducted soldiers meet with Pope Benedict XVI. February 20, 2007 - In response to pleas from the families of the three kidnapped IDF soldiers (including Gilad Schalit's family), MK Limor Livnat (Likud) withdraws bill which would require a two-thirds Knesset majority to authorize the release of security prisoners in exchange for the soldiers' return. July 3, 2007 - Coinciding with the first anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, Goldwasser and Regev's battalion returns to active reserve duty for urban combat training at the IDF's Ground Forces Center near Ze'elim in the western Negev. June 19, 2008 - A deal for the release of Goldwasser and Regev is finalized, although senior defense officials say it will take several days to implement. June 24, 2008 - OC Chaplaincy Corps Rabbi Avichai Ronsky begins sifting through evidence to determine whether Goldwasser and Regev can be declared dead according to the standards set by Halacha. June 29, 2008 - The cabinet overwhelmingly agrees to swap Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar for the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev. Compiled by Jackie Len