Intensive communication between the Israeli enemy and Hamas ends up with the release of Shalit and Palestinian detainees on Tuesday
After intensive communication between the Israeli enemy and Hamas via Egyptian mediatorsWednesday to hammer out the final details, abducted occupation soldier Gilad Shalit and Palestinian detainees are expected to be released on Tuesday.
As the plans appear now, Shalit will be taken from the Gaza Strip into Sinai and from there into occupied Palestine through one of the border crossings with Egypt. Once he reaches Sinai, the Israelis will release 27 female Palestinian security prisoners. When Shalit enters occupied Palestine after five years in captivity, 450 major prisoners, whose identities have already been agreed on between Israel and Hamas, will be released.
The agreement calls for Israel to release another 550 prisoners of its choosing within two months. Israel has pledged that the 550 will all be security prisoners and not car thieves.
Sources in the Israeli military said the occupation forces are preparing for Shalit's arrival and the meeting with his family after preliminary medical examinations.
An Egyptian source involved in the negotiations confirmed to Haaretz statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's representative at the talks, David Median, that Egypt has conveyed Hamas' guarantees that Shalit is alive and well.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Benny Gantz visited the Shalit family yesterday at their home in the Galilee community of Mitzpeh Hila. During the 40-minute visit, Gantz reported to the family on the details of the swap. He said that some details had still not been finalized, particularly those involving the soldier's transfer from Hamas to the Egyptians at the Rafah crossing.
Among the visitors to the Shalit home last night were Karnit Goldwasser, the widow of Ehud Goldwasser, and Zvi Regev, the father of Eldad Regev. Goldwasser and Regev were kidnapped by Hezbollah on the northern border in 2006, sparking the Second Lebanon War. Their bodies were returned to “Israel” in 2008 in exchange for Lebanese fighter Samir Kuntar, imprisoned since 1979.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked Egyptian military ruler, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, for Egypt's central role in negotiating the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, Army Radio reported Thursday. Netanyahu told Tantawi, the head of the Egyptian Supreme Military Council, that Egypt's help "warms the hearts of all Israeli citizens."
