An Israeli army officer closes the entrance gate to a cemetery for enemy combatants marked with numbered plaques near the northern Israeli town of Tsfat. A prisoner swap is due to take place between Israel and Hizbollah militia in about 10 days.
An Israeli army officer closes the entrance gate to a cemetery for enemy combatants marked with numbered plaques near the northern Israeli town of Tsfat. A prisoner swap is due to take place between Israel and Hizbollah militia in about 10 days.
An Israeli army officer closes the entrance gate to a cemetery for enemy combatants marked with numbered plaques near the northern Israeli town of Tsfat. A prisoner swap is due to take place between Israel and Hizbollah militia in about 10 days.
An Israeli army officer closes the entrance gate to a cemetery for enemy combatants marked with numbered plaques near the northern Israeli town of Tsfat. A prisoner swap is due to take place between I

Israel signs prisoner swap deal

The proposed prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbollah is set to take place within the next two weeks.

  • English
  • Arabic

JERUSALEM // Israel has signed an undertaking in front of UN officials to go ahead with a proposed prisoner swap with the militant group Hizbollah, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday. "The Israeli pointman Ofer Dekel signed in the presence of the UN officials the arrangement proposed by the UN," the spokesman, Mark Regev, said. The Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said last Wednesday that the proposed exchange would take place within two weeks.

The Israeli cabinet approved the deal last month under which it is to release five Lebanese prisoners, the remains of Hizbollah fighters and an undetermined number of Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The pair were captured, badly wounded, by Hizbollah in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006, that sparked a devastating 34-day war in Lebanon that killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Mr Olmert told his cabinet the two soldiers were dead. But Mr Nasrallah said: "So far Hizbollah has not handed over any information about the fate of the two soldiers. Anything said in Israel is mere speculation. We have provided no information." Mr Nasrallah said Hizbollah had agreed to Israeli demands for information on the missing airman Ron Arad as a precondition for the exchange and would pass it on through a German mediator.

But the Israeli prime minister's spokesman said yesterday that had yet to happen. "We have not received the promised report about Ron Arad," Mr Regev said. "We are waiting for it. When we receive it, the government will discuss further moves." On Friday, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Israel had received the report about its airman, missing since 1986, and added that it said he had been dead for more than 10 years.

On Sunday, Israeli officials said the army was preparing to start exhuming the bodies of dead Hizbollah fighters in readiness for the prisoner swap. The army declared a cemetery for enemy combatants near Amiad in northern Israel a closed military zone in preparation for the exhumation that was expected to start on Monday and last several days, the officials said. *AFP

While you're here
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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