Israel to Release Two Prisoners After Soldier's Body Returned

(Bloomberg) -- Following the return of the body of Israeli soldier Zechariah Baumel this month, Israel has decided to release two prisoners as a “gesture of good will,” according to an Israeli official.

Baumel had been missing since a 1982 battle in Lebanon, and the return of his body came with help from Russia just days before Israel’s national elections.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Russia at the time to thank President Vladimir Putin, who said that Russian soldiers in Syria discovered Baumel’s remains.

Israel’s attorney general approved the release of the two Syrian prisoners without the cabinet’s approval, as legally required, acording to Haaretz. The bodies of two other soldiers who went missing during the same battle as Baumel haven’t been recovered.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ivan Levingston in Tel Aviv at ilevingston@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann

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