Israel to free 1,027 Palestinians for Shalit
Gilad Shalit
Israel and Hamas have agreed a landmark deal to secure the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for over a thousand Palestinian detainees, officials on both sides said.
If the accord is implemented, it will end an ordeal that has lasted more than five years for the young soldier, who has become a national icon in Israel since his capture by Gaza-based militants in June 2006.
Shalit was captured in a deadly cross-border raid on June 25, 2006 by militants from three Gaza-based groups including Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and a Salafi group called the Army of Islam.
The Israeli government early yesterday formally approved the deal, which came out of the blue, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the details in a live address shortly after presenting it to his government during an emergency session on Tuesday night.
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal confirmed the deal in his own televised speech in Damascus.
He said the first phase of the deal would see 450 prisoners freed "in one week," with another 550 Palestinians to be freed "in two months"..
In Israel, the news brought excited crowds to the protest tent set up by Shalit's parents outside Netanyahu's Jerusalem home.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas "warmly" welcomed the deal, negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP in a phone call from Venezuela, describing it as a "Palestinian national achievement".
And in the Gaza Strip, Hamas said "tens of thousands" of Palestinians had flooded streets in the northern part of the territory to celebrate the expected release of Palestinian detainees.
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