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Israel, Hamas reach Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, officials say
Announcement by Netanyahu’s office comes before planned emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the details of a deal geared at securing the release of the abducted IDF soldier.
Israel and Hamas have reached a prisoner exchange deal that will secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, officials at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday.Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said that “a brief window of opportunity has been opened that would possibly lead to Gilad Shalit’s homecoming,” adding: “The window appeared following fears that collapsing Mideast regimes and the rise of extremist forces would make Gilad Shalit’s return impossible.”
Gilad Shalit will return home to his family in the coming days, Prime Minister Binyamin said at the start of an urgent cabinet meeting convened Tuesday evening, where he informed ministers of the deal secured for the soldier's release.
Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israeli delegation charged with negotiations to initial an agreement drawn up with Hamas and mediated by Egypt, last Thursday in Cairo.
Tuesday's meeting occurred shortly after the al-Arabiya network quoted an unnamed source announcing that Israel and Hamas had reached a deal.
Israeli officials said the deal would be carried out in stages.
The officials said Israel will release 300 prisoners out of a list of 450 prisoners drawn up by Hamas and Shalit will be transferred to Egypt and returned to Israel. At the same time an additional 150 prisoners will then be freed and shortly after a batch of 550 Palestinian prisoners of Israel's choosing.
Hamas officials in Gaza said a list of the prisoners' names would be published Tuesday night. The officials said among the 1,000 to be set free are 300 prisoners sentenced to numerous life sentences in Israel for their role in terror attacks in which scores of Israelis were murdered. The officials said prisoners from other organizations including 27 female prisoners will also be released.
At a press conference in Damascus Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal confirmed the deal and said it would be implemented in two stages. 450 prisoners will be released in the first stage and 550 within two months.
Israel's Channel One television reported that Shalit will be transferred to Cairo and flown to Germany and from there will be returned to Israel.
Netanyahu stressed that a window of opportunity had been created that could shortly close due to the upheaval in the Middle East and the uncertainty concerning Arab regimes. He thanked the Egyptian government whose efforts were instrumental in securing the deal and also thanked Angela Merkel for allowing the German mediator tocontinue his efforts to secure Shalit's release.
In June 2006, Gilad Shalit was deployed near the Gaza Strip when he was abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip where he has been held incommunicado ever since.
