This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/5313902.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Annan offer to mediate accepted | Annan offer to mediate accepted |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| UN chief Kofi Annan says Israel and Hezbollah have accepted his offer of mediation to try to secure the release of two captured Israeli soldiers. | UN chief Kofi Annan says Israel and Hezbollah have accepted his offer of mediation to try to secure the release of two captured Israeli soldiers. |
| Hezbollah seized the soldiers during a cross-border raid in July, triggering the recent conflict with Israel. | Hezbollah seized the soldiers during a cross-border raid in July, triggering the recent conflict with Israel. |
| Mr Annan's spokesman said both parties had asked for mediation and that he had agreed "to play a role". | Mr Annan's spokesman said both parties had asked for mediation and that he had agreed "to play a role". |
| A special mediator will be appointed but Mr Annan intends to keep their name and the negotiations secret. | |
| Hezbollah have called on Israel to release Lebanese prisoners it is holding in exchange for the Israeli soldiers. | Hezbollah have called on Israel to release Lebanese prisoners it is holding in exchange for the Israeli soldiers. |
| But Israeli has been seeking the soldiers' unconditional release. | |
| Public pressure | |
| Speaking at a press conference in the Saudi city of Jeddah, Mr Annan said: "both parties have accepted the good offices of the secretary general to help resolve this problem". | |
| He added he would not name the mediator because he wanted them to work "discreetly". | |
| Other potential mediators to secure the release of the Israeli soldiers have included US civil-rights campaigner Jesse Jackson, and the head of German intelligence. | |
| Two years ago German-led negotiations brokered a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. | |
| BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says that while the official position of the Israeli government is to demand the unconditional release of the prisoners, public pressure is such that they may be ready to accept an eventual prisoner exchange. | |
| Our correspondent adds that Mr Annan has left open the possibility that the negotiations might also include a third Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. | |
| Cpl Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants in June. | |
| Egyptian diplomats have been working for his release but without success. |