ISRAEL IS set to release 20 Palestinian women prisoners tomorrow in return for a one-minute video released by Hamas in Gaza providing proof that Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by militants in 2006, is alive and well.
Hamas representatives in Gaza said the video clip, which has already been viewed by German mediators, will also contain details showing it was made recently.
Militants holding the corporal, who was seized during an audacious cross-border raid, have refused Israeli demands for Red Cross access to him.
Three letters written in captivity by the soldier have been transferred to his family, but this will be the first video footage of Gilad Shalit, now aged 23, made since his capture.
Both sides expressed hope the release will mark the first step towards a larger prisoner swap, under which Israel is expected to free hundreds of Palestinian detainees in exchange for Shalit.
Israel yesterday released the names of the women prisoners proposed for release in order to allow opponents of the deal to appeal to the country’s High Court. However, the judicial branch has always rejected such appeals in the past.
Nineteen of the women were from the West Bank and one from Gaza. Fourteen of them were accused of attempted murder, but none was sent to prison for attacks which resulted in Israeli fatalities.
Most of them were due to end their prison terms by next year at the latest. Four of the women were members of Hamas, five were from the rival Fatah, three were members of Islamic Jihad and the others were from smaller Palestinian factions.
Hamas deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said the deal “is an important step that lays the groundwork for the release of all the Palestinian prisoners”.
The Shalit family put out a statement welcoming the deal as a significant achievement. “We wish to stress that although this is a first step in the right direction, the family will not rest until Gilad is freed after almost 1,200 days in which he has been held in a Hamas prison. Both sides must continue the determined process that has recently begun until the final result is quickly achieved,” the statement concluded.
Egyptian security sources stressed that efforts will continue, via Egyptian and German mediators, to bring about a comprehensive prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas.
News of the video deal came just hours after Israeli jets targeted smuggling tunnels on the border between Gaza and Egypt, killing two Palestinians and wounding six others.