Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, has announced his group's agreement to a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, the Hezbollah leader said he expected the swap to take place in one to two weeks.

He said that the exchange should include the release of Samir Kantar, a Lebanese prisoner who is serving multiple life terms for infiltrating northern Israel in 1979 and killing three Israelis - a man, his 4-year-old daughter and a police officer.

"I will not set an exact date. The sooner it takes place the better," he said.

"I believe that in a week or two it will be implemented ... July 15 is the most probable, a bit before or a bit after."

The deal - approved by Israel on Sunday - would see Hezbollah return two captured Israeli soldiers, believed to be dead, for five Lebanese prisoners and the remains of around 200 suspected Lebanese, Palestinian and Arab fighters.

"We shoud also gain further information as to the fate of those fighters missing in previous wars, especially those who disappeared before 1982, and after 1982," Nasrallah said.

Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from the southern suburbs of Beirut, said that Nasrallah felt he had proved a point in the group's handling of Israel and its policies.

"He said the prisoner swap proved that Hezbollah and Lebanon can get what it wants from Israel without making politicla concessions, or without signing a peace treaty," she said.

"He believes success can only come through fighting Israel. He also maintains that the country is weaker than many think."

Al Jazeera