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Israelis Prepare for Worst News on Lebanon Duo

[Friday Analysis] The long-awaited prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbullah appears likely to go ahead on Wednesday. Key to the package is the handover of Lebanese citizen Samir Quntar, whom Israel says was responsible for a terror attack in the north of the country in 1979. He will be exchanged for two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah in 2006, an event that sparked off the summer war in Lebanon and northern Israel. In recent weeks, the Israeli government has been preparing the public for the likelihood that Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser are dead. One key sign has been a change in the daily broadcast about the two on the government-owned Israel Radio. Until recently, the announcer would tell listeners how many days it had been since the captures of Regev, Goldwasser and Hamas’ hostage Corporal Gilad Shalit. Now, the announcer only mentions Shalit. Publicly, some of Regev and Golwasser’s family members are in denial, but there is a growing acceptance that they will be returned in body bags, while Quntar will receive a heroes welcome in Lebanon.