OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Israeli occupation forces agreed on Wednesday, September 30, to free twenty Palestinian women detained in its jails in return for fresh information on its soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Palestinian resistance fighters three years ago. "The Israeli security cab decided to authorize the release of 20 Palestinian women detainees and prisoners," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Israel will receive updated and clear proof on the health and condition of Gilad Shalit. This proof of life will be handed to Israel by the mediators in the form of a videotape that has recently been filmed."
The release of the detainees and the handing over of the videotape will be done back-to-back on Friday, October 1.
Shalit, now 23, was captured by Palestinian resistance fighters in June 2006 in an attack that left two soldiers killed.
The video will prove that Shalit is alive.
"The video is one minute long and is proof that Shalit is alive," a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the three groups that carried out the raid in which Shalit was captured, told AFP.
Four of the Palestinian women due to be released belong to Hamas, five to Fatah, three to the Islamic Jihad, one to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and seven independents.
All but one of the women are from the occupied West Bank.
The detainees had all served at least two thirds of their sentences and none had more than two years left to serve.
Victory
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, confirmed the deal, which was proposed by Egyptians and Germans mediating the indirect talks between the group and Israel for a prisoner swap.
“As we go ahead with this exchange, we reiterate our national and moral commitment to do all we can to help free our detainees in Israeli detentions,” Abu Obeida, Al-Qassam spokesman, told a press conference in Gaza City.
“We promise you a comprehensive and honorable deal (in exchange for Shalit).”
The Palestinian groups that captured Shalit want to trade him for some of the nearly 11,000 Palestinian detainees, including women and minors, in Israeli jails.
The new development marked a major breakthrough in nearly three years of on-again, off-again Egyptian-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas for an exchange. German mediators joined the talks in July.
Since 2006, Cairo has been trying to broker a deal under which Shalit would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit last week urged Israel to release 1,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange for Shalit and show more flexibility.
Netanyahu’s office said the exchange was meant as "a confidence-building measure... ahead of decisive stages in the negotiations" for Shalit's release.
Source: IslamOnline
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