The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu had instructed that efforts be made to locate and return the remains of the community leaders, who were kidnapped and killed in the mid-1980s.
Netanyahu had been following the issue for decades, the statement said, specifically since his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“Over the past several months, numerous operations have been carried out to locate the remains, by both Lebanon and Israel, including field operations,” the statement said.
“In light of this intensive activity, it was decided to release five Lebanese citizens who had been detained in areas under the control of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon.”
“After completing their interrogation, it was determined that they are civilians who do not belong to a terrorist organization, have not engaged in terrorism, and that there is no reason to continue holding them in Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.