Diplomatic Efforts Involving Russia To Return Israeli Woman Who Crossed Syrian Border And Remains Of Israeli Soldiers

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Russia has reportedly been mediating a prisoner exchange between Israel and Syria, according to reports by Syrian media Wednesday.

On Tuesday night Prime Minister Netanyahu hastily called a security cabinet meeting to discuss a “humanitarian issue in Syria.” The subject of the meeting was not released for publication by the IDF but apparently it refers to the accidental entry of an Israeli woman into Syrian territory. The woman, apparently a chareidi woman from Modiin Illit, was taken into custody by Syrian officials and Israel is allegedly offering a prisoner exchange in which it will release two Druze residents of Golan Heights towns who are loyal to Syria.

The Syrian statement referred to Nihal al-Maqt of Majdal Shams and Diyab Kahmuz of Ghajar as “Syrian captives” despite their Israeli citizenship. Khamuz was part of a Hezbollah cell and convicted for helping the enemy, giving information to the enemy, contact with a foreign agent, importing arms and selling dangerous drugs, among other crimes, and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2018. He was reportedly released on Wednesday morning.

Al-Maqt, a woman, has served multiple prison sentences, and was charged with three years in 2020 on security offenses.

However last week there were also numerous  contacts between senior Russian officials and their Israeli counterparts including including phone calls between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

These contacts may have been security coordinations in advance of the Israeli attack in Iraq but according to a report by the English language Arabic paper, Asharq Al-Awsat, the Russian military has been searching for the remains of Israeli soldiers in a cemetery near a Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus.