Shalit received fair treatment in captivity and was not tortures

Hamas said on Monday morning that kidnapped Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit received fair treatment in captivity according to Islamic moral values and all of his vital needs were addressed, Israeli Army Radio reported.

Syria will be among the countries absorbing Palestinian prisoners released in the exchange deal for Shalit, senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said in an interview published in the London-based, pan-Arab daily Al Hayat on Monday.

Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Damascus-based Hamas “political bureau," said that Turkey and Qatar would also take in some of the forty total prisoners to be sent abroad as part of the deal.

The Hamas official said that he would be arriving in Cairo on Monday, along with Hamas leader in Damascus, Khaled Mashaal, to meet the forty prisoners being deported, prior to their departure.

Noam Schalit will be present at noon on Monday to discuss the petitions against the release of his son, Gilad Shalit, Army Radio reported early Monday morning.

Recently, the Supreme Court had blocked such intervention in the petition process, according the report. The discussions will take place in front of three judges and led by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch.

ON TIME
Israeli President Shimon Peres said that everything related to the pardons of prisoners in the exchange deal for Shalit would be completed on time.

The High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday that it will hear a petition at noon on Monday against the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners involved in the exchange deal to release Shalit. The first group of 477 prisoners, whose names were published Sunday, are expected to be released on Tuesday at the same time that Hamas hands over Shalit. The list includes 450 males and 27 females.

The petition asks the court to delay the prisoner releases to allow bereaved families more time to examine the list of prisoners and to organize a response.

"Today is a very special day," Peres told reporters in the presidential residence."These are not only long days, but very sensitive days," said Peres. "We're all very excited, this is a one time event with a lot of hope, but a lot of trepidation," he added. Peres paid tribute to Netanyahu for making the decision to release Shalit and to the Zionist government for accepting the collective responsibility to bring him home.