477 Palestinians to be released as part of Shalit deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israel on Sunday, Oct 16 released a list of 477 Palestinian prisoners to be released next week as part of the deal to secure Gilad Shalit's freedom, many of whom were involved in bloody militant attacks.

Hundreds of them are serving life terms after being convicted of involvement in attacks, including the 2001 bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub that killed 21 people and an attack on a Netanya hotel where 29 people died a year later.

Details of the prisoners' identities were made public just 48 hours before the exchange was expected to take place, although the specific details of the handover were still being worked out, officials said.

Under the agreement signed last Tuesday, Israel is to free a total of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of the 25-year-old soldier, who has been in captivity in Gaza for more than five years.

If the deal goes through, it will be the largest number of Palestinian prisoners ever freed by the Jewish state to secure the release of just one person.

The list of 450 Palestinian men and 27 women was released early Sunday on the website of the Israeli Prisons Service, in a move which gives the public 48 hours to lodge any legal appeals against the names. The remaining 550 prisoners are to be freed within two months.

Following publication of the names, the 27 women were transferred from Damun prison in the north to HaSharon in central Israel ahead of their release, officials said.

The mass release of detainees was expected to spark major celebrations in the West Bank, where three days of official celebrations are planned, and particularly in Gaza, where Hamas officials said they would be welcomed as "heroes."

Israel was also expected to celebrate Shalit's long-awaited return, although the 25-year-old was likely to be kept far from the public eye in the face of concerns about his mental health after being held incommunicado in Gaza since his capture in June 2006, AFP reported.