The IDF Chief Rabbinate and IDF Northern Command has called up reservists from the Military Rabbinate in preparation for the prisoner swap with Hizbullah expected to take place sometime within the next few days.
The rabbinic reservists are being called upon to disinter the remains of enemy soldiers and terrorists who were killed by the IDF during counterterrorism operations in southern Lebanon in recent years.
It was agreed in German-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hizbullah that these remains would be traded for IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev and the remains of other IDF soldiers who fell during the Second Lebanon War.
On Sunday, the Cemetery for Enemy Fallen, located near Amiad in the Upper Galilee, was declared a closed military zone until July 13 by OC Northern command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, the officer in charge of implementing the prisoner swap for Goldwasser and Regev.
The same evening, IDF rabbinical reservists began opening graves at the cemetery and preparing to disinter the remains for transfer to Hizbullah, according to an army source that requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Israel has also agreed to free convicted family murderer Samir Kuntar and four other Hizbullah terrorists currently imprisoned in the Jewish State in exchange for Goldwasser and Regev.
The precise date for the exchange has not been made public; however, the fact that disinterrment has already begun indicates that the exchange will most likely take place within the next several days. According to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, the multi-step prisoner exchange process could begin as early as Thursday; however, there has been no official confirmation from either Hizbullah or the Israeli government.