Captured Israeli Soldier Writes Home

(CBS/AP)  Israel has received the first signs of life from a soldier kidnapped by Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip three months ago.

After conducting lab tests, Israeli officials say a letter written by kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Shalit to his father is authentic, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger (audio). The letter was given to his father last week, but its contents were not released.

Officials also confirm that Egypt is mediating a major prisoner swap. Media reports say Israel will release at least 800 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the captive soldier.

There was no confirmation from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, but officials close to the talks confirmed the details. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

In other developments:

Israeli troops raided the homes and offices of 14 money changers in the West Bank early Wednesday, confiscating nearly $1.5 million the army said came mostly from Iran and was earmarked for terrorism, reports Berger (audio).

While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was planning to tell President Bush and other world leaders at the United Nations that the new unity government would move the peace process forward, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said his government would not recognize Israel.

Israel will not be able to fully withdraw from Lebanon by the start of Rosh Hashanah, the new year holiday that begins Friday at sundown. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz on Wednesday contradicted a statement he had made Tuesday. Israeli forces have been gradually pulling out from territory captured during the 34-day war that ended five weeks ago.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations criticized the U.S. administration on Monday for granting an entrance visa to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and allowing him to address the U.N. General Assembly. The Israeli delegation boycotted the speech by Ahmadinejad, who has said he wants to wipe Israel off the map and dismissed the Holocaust as a myth.

Israel on Wednesday buried the remains of

(AP Photo/Gali Tibbon)

two children of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, fulfilling a wish their father made more than a century ago. All three of Herzl's children died tragically. Pauline suffered from mental illness and died in 1930, apparently of a drug overdose. Hans, who converted to Christianity, committed suicide when he learned of her death. Herzl's youngest daughter, Trude, died in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, and her body has never been found.

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[cathaleen]

We should all say a prayer that this young man
returns home safe to his family and maybe this would be a start to a long overdue peace process between
these Israel and Palistine.