Naharnet - Israel Releases 2 Lebanese Shepherds - March 24, 2011

Israel on Wednesday handed over to U.N. peacekeepers two Lebanese shepherds who were kidnapped near the border in southern Lebanon a day earlier.Lebanese citizens Leon Alam, 35, and 55-year-old Mohammad Zahra were handed over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon via the Naqoura border crossing. The Lebanese army said in a communiqué on Tuesday: "An Israeli patrol abducted two citizens at the outskirts of Rmeish near the Blue Line in an act considered as an attack against Lebanese sovereignty." It added that intensive contacts were being made by the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to urge Israel to release the two abducted citizens.