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| Israel charges Hezbollah fighters | Israel charges Hezbollah fighters |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Israeli prosecutors have filed criminal charges against three Hezbollah fighters captured during the recent conflict in Lebanon, officials say. | Israeli prosecutors have filed criminal charges against three Hezbollah fighters captured during the recent conflict in Lebanon, officials say. |
| The men will be tried for murder and membership of a terrorist organisation, said justice ministry officials. | |
| Correspondents say the charges reflect Israel's refusal to view Hezbollah as a legitimate fighting force, to be treated under established laws of war. | |
| The accused are named as Mohammed Srur, Maher Hourani and Hussein Suleiman. | |
| Jerusalem police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Mr Suleiman, 22, was charged with participating in an attack on an army post on 12 July. | |
| That was the day on which Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid, sparking Israel's 34-day offensive against Lebanon. | |
| M Srur, 20, and Mr Hourani, 30, also participated in attacks against soldiers along the border, Mr Rosenfeld said. | |
| Access | |
| The indictment was submitted by police at the district court in the northern Israeli town of Nazareth. | |
| Israel is believed to have captured about 12 Hezbollah fighters during the fighting in July and August. | |
| The Red Cross has interviewed three captured Lebanese and urged Israel to declare how many guerrillas it is holding in its jails. It has also called on Hezbollah to allow access to the two captured Israeli soldiers. | |
| Hezbollah wants to negotiate a prisoner swap to release all Lebanese detainees in Israel, one of whom has spent 28 years in custody after being captured during a cross-border attack in 1979. | |
| Israel, backed by UN resolution 1701, has demanded the unconditional release of its two soldiers. |