Senior diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said this morning that the final details of the prisoner exchange deal for Elchanan Tenenbaum and the bodies of the three soldiers will be concluded this week - and may even be carried by then. Despite the objections of the Arad family, Mustafa Dirani, the Lebanese terrorist who drove around with Ron Arad in the trunk of his car for almost a year before finally selling him to the Iranians, will be released from Israeli prison as part of the deal. Prime Minister Sharon told Arad's wife, daughter and brothers that Israel's continued holding of Dirani cannot benefit Ron Arad, as Dirani has neither "weight" in Iran, nor information on what happened to Arad in Iran.
The circumstances surrounding the abduction three years ago of Elchanan Tenenbaum will not be released - for now. The Supreme Court today issued a temporary restraining order against the publication until it conducts a hearing on the matter ten days from now. A lower court had originally ruled, in response to a court petition by Ha'aretz newspaper and Channel Ten, that the information might be released - but the Tenenbaum family submitted a counter-petition demanding that the information remain classified.
It has been widely reported that Tenenbaum was abducted from Lebanon as a result of circumstances that, according to one military source, should lead him to jail. Prime Minister Sharon has said that even if Tenenbaum is guilty, he need not be tried by Hizbullah, but rather by Israel, and that every effort must be made to obtain his freedom.
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