Israeli cabinet to vote on Hizbollah prisoner deal

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to seek cabinet approval on Sunday for a proposed prisoner exchange with Lebanese guerilla group Hizbollah in a sign that a deal could be nearing completion.

Under the deal Israel would swap around 400 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners, as well as two senior Hizbollah officials, for an Israeli businessman kidnapped by Hizbollah three years ago and the bodies of three soldiers snatched from the border.

Mr Sharon staunchly supports the deal and is expected to throw his weight behind the agreement, which German mediators have taken almost three years to negotiate. But he will have a hard time persuading some cabinet ministers to support the swap.

"In the last few days there was positive progress and the prime minister decided to bring it to a vote in the next meeting of the government this Sunday. All details will be given to the ministers," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told reporters.