A prisoner swap between Syria and Israel is underway, mediated by Russia, Syrian state media said on Wednesday.
Two Syrians should be released in return for a young Israeli woman who entered Syrian territory by mistake, the Syrian news agency SANA said.
The report was later confirmed by Israeli officials, who said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser was to arrive in Moscow to finalize the deal.
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On Tuesday, an urgent, secretive cabinet meeting was convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The details of the one-hour meeting were largely shrouded in secrecy, but based on information that has been made available to the press, Israel has asked Russia to use its influence with the Assad regime in Syria to help with the matter, which has been defined as humanitarian.
According to unconfirmed reports in the Arab media, the woman may be suffering from some form of mental illness due to an undisclosed trauma and could have ended up in Syria because of some romantic relationship. The reports, which could not be independently verified, claim she is from the Haredi town of Modi'in Illit.
Prior to the emergency meeting, Netanyahu abruptly left a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet to attend to the "security issue."
In recent weeks, Netanyahu, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi have spoken with their respective Russian counterparts on the matter in question.
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