Report: Israel, Hamas reach Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal

[dipsydoodle]

Al-Arabiya report comes as PM Netanyahu calls rushed cabinet meeting to discuss the details of a deal geared at securing the release of the abducted IDF soldier.
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff

Israel and Hamas reached a prisoner exchange deal that will secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, a report by Al-Arabiya said on Tuesday.

The report came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency cabinet meeting scheduled for later Tuesday in which ministers are to discuss the status of talks geared at securing Sahlit's release.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-israel-hamas-reach-gilad-shalit-prisoner-exchange-deal-1.389404

see other links below reply #3

[bemildred]

1. I hope this is not just another distraction. nt

[LeftishBrit]

2. Good news, if true

I hope that he's alive and in reasonable condition.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Its only just breaking on tv news here in the UK

The link I used was the only one I could find.

Sky News now up http: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16087236

and the Grauniad too : http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/11/gilad-shalit-exchange-deal-al-arabiya?newsfeed=true

[azurnoir]

4. Hopefully it 'sticks' this time

the guy has been held for over 5 years time to let him go come to think of it I used to refer to him as a kid but it's been so long he's not a kid anymore

[dipsydoodle]

7. In what I assume to be recent pictures

he still looks very young but at the same time both gaunt and haunted which I guess is understandable.

[azurnoir]

8. It's the difference between being 19 and being 25

he's missed out on much in that time but at the same time as I hope he will be released this time I also find myself wondering if Marwan Barghouthi will be among the prisoners exchanged

[Scurrilous]

5. Palestinians celebrate prisoner exchange deal in Gaza Strip

Tens of thousands of celebrators hand out sweets, wave the green flags of the Islamist Hamas movement, and chant slogans in support of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing.

<snip>

"Tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the northern Gaza Strip late Tuesday, celebrating the news that after years of on-and-off German and Egyptian-mediated negotiations, Israel and Hamas had reached a prisoners' exchange deal.

They handed out sweets, waved the green flags of the radical Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza, and chanted slogans in support of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing.

Most of them were in Jabaliya, a refugee camp north of Gaza City, the hometown of many Palestinian militants jailed in Israel."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-celebrate-prisoner-exchange-deal-in-gaza-strip-1.389436

[Jefferson23]

6. Hamas chief hails Palestinian prisoners deal

More than 1,000 prisoners to be released in exchange for captured Israeli prisoner in Egypt-brokered deal.

Last Modified: 11 Oct 2011 18:22


Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, said more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons will be released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Hamas reached a deal with the Israeli government on Tuesday for the release 1,027 prisoners in exchange for Shalit who has been held in the Gaza Strip since 2006, Meshaal said in a televised address.

"This is a national achievement that we should be proud of," said Meshaal who was speaking from Damascus, the Syrian capital.

The negotiators "gave priority to those who have spent over 20 years" in jail and the list of those to be freed include 315 prisoners who have life imprisonment sentences, he said.

"We were very keen for this deal to include prisoners from across different categories, from different age groups and from the West Bank and Gaza, from Jerusalem and the Golan ."

He stressed that this deal reflects the unity of the Palestinian people, and vowed to fight until "the day that all Palestinians imprisoned in Israel are freed".

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/10/20111011175925656823.html

[Jefferson23]

9. Israel claims killing of Shalit captor

Army says Hamas commander Tayser Abu Snima, who helped capture Corporal Gilad Shalit in 2006, was killed in air strike.
Last Modified: 10 Apr 2011 03:27

Tayser Abu Snima, a Hamas commander "directly and physically" involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, was killed during air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Israel's army said.

Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, dismissed the claim.

"The enemy does not have the information about Shalit's capture to be able to say who among our leaders had a role in its execution," he said.

Israel has tried to free Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in 2006, through a prisoner swap with Hamas, but talks have bogged down over disagreements about who Israel might free, with both sides blaming one another.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114100041477650.html

[Jefferson23]

10. Israel cabinet approves Gilad Shalit prisoner swap

Deal is approved by a large margin, though three government ministers voted against the proposal.

By Barak Ravid and Haaretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted early Wednesday morning to approve a prisoner swap that will see Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who has been in Hamas captivity for the last five years, return to Israel.

Twenty-six ministers voted in favor of the deal, and three ministers - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon of Likud - voted against the proposal.

snip* According to the agreement framework presented by Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, the deal Netanyahu brought before the cabinet included, at first, the release of 450 Palestinian prisoners, including 280 with life sentences.

110 prisoners will be released to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, out of whom 55 are Hamas men, with the rest belonging to Fatah and the other Palestinian groups.

According to the deal, 131 Gaza residents will be released back to the coastal Strip, many of whom are reportedly top Hamas operatives. Another 203 prisoners will be expelled from the West Bank, 40 of whom will be deported overseas and the rest to Gaza.

In addition, 6 Israeli Arab prisoners who have been serving for many years will also be released to their homes. The deal also specifies the release of 27 female inmates: terrorists Ahlam Tamimi and Amna Muna will be deported, with the rest of the female inmates are expected to be released to their homes.

The second wave of releases will take place in two months time, at which point Israel will release 550 prisoners of its choosing.

In a briefing with reporters, the Shin Bet chief indicated that senior Hamas West Bank operatives the militant group demanded be set free – such as Abdullah Barghouti, Ibrahim Hamed, Abbas Sayed, and others – will not be released from jail.

Ahmed Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, will also remain in prison, as well as Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouti.

About half of those released to the West Bank will live under restrictions that include prohibiting them from exiting the West Bank and, in some cases, the towns in which they live.

Cohen added that the Shin Bet supported the newly signed deal since releasing Shalit by means of military operation was deemed impossible.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-cabinet-approves-gilad-shalit-prisoner-swap-1.389468

[shaayecanaan]

11. Looks like they got their thousand, then...

there are a couple of concessions in there from Hamas but by and large it looks like they got 95% of what they demanded from Israel.

[King_David]

12. 1000 for 1

Hamas' value on life.

[Jefferson23]

13. Yes, they had ONE soldier.

Barred from Contact: Violation of the Right to Visit Palestinians Held in Israeli Prisons, Sept. 2006.September 2006, Information Sheet


Israel holds in prison more than 9,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The vast majority are held in prisons situated inside Israel 's sovereign territory, and not in the Occupied Territories .

Holding these prisoners and detainees in Israel flagrantly breaches international humanitarian law, which prohibits the transfer of civilians, including detainees and prisoners, from the occupied territory to the territory of the occupying state. Israel 's disregard for this prohibition is one of the main reasons that the prisoners and their families are unable to exercise their right to visits in a reasonable manner.

This report sheds light on the many difficulties and the suffering faced by the prisoners' families, residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in their efforts to visit their relatives imprisoned in Israel .

Although Israel has the obligation to enable residents of the Occupied Territories to exercise their right to visit their relatives imprisoned in Israel , the task has been performed, since 1969, by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Relatives from the Occupied Territories who want to visit can do so only on the designated visiting days and on the transportation that the ICRC organizes, provided they received the relevant permit from the Israeli military authorities.

Because of the obstacles entailed in obtaining a permit to enter Israel , many Palestinians are able to visit their imprisoned relatives only once every few months. Many others are denied a permit and are thus unable to visit at all. In addition, the visit itself entails a grueling journey that can take almost 24 hours because of the checks and delays.



Israel's arbitrary and disproportionate policy not only infringes the right to family visits, it also results in violation of other rights and principles of international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as domestic Israeli law. Another consequence of the policy is the large number of minors, some of them only four or five years old, who make the visit alone, without an adult accompanying them. The visit, usually held behind a reinforced glass wall that does not allow any physical contact between the visitors and their imprisoned relatives, is a difficult experience in itself. The prohibition on physical contact also applies to all minors, age 6 and above, that are visiting their parents or siblings.

In light of the report's findings, B'Tselem urges the government of Israel to transfer all Palestinian prisoners to detention facilities inside the Occupied Territories . If the transfer requires the building of new facilities, Israel must ensure that it constructs the facilities while respecting the rights of the residents of the Occupied Territories, in particular their property rights.

Also, so long as Palestinians are held inside Israel, B'Tselem calls on the government of Israel to:

ease the granting of permits to enter Israel for family visits;
increase the speed and efficiency of issuing permits;
take measures to shorten the travel time to and from the prison, and ease the hardships entailed in the visits;
refrain from imposing a sweeping restriction on all minor children from making physical contact with the prisoners, and improve the conditions in which the prisoners and their relatives communicate with each other during the visits.

http://www.btselem.org/node/48162

[King_David]

17. A September 2006 info sheet ? nt

[Jefferson23]

20. Check the year the soldier was taken hostage..the figures involving

the Palestinians has not improved...thousands of them..this is not earlier enough for you, we could go
back prior to his being held. The inequity is and has been advanced for the Palestinians.

[King_David]

22. Nah ,I don't want to encourage

A ludicrous , ridiculous and extremely non credible
comparison of The Jewish State and terrorist organizations.(with no redeeming qualities)

[Jefferson23]

23. You'll remain ignorant on the subject, your choice. n/t

[shira]

24. So what is Israel supposed to do. Hand terrorists back over to the PA for detention?

The PA glorifies and cheers on their heroic acts.

How long do you think these criminals would remain in PA prison cells? Weeks? Days?

[Jefferson23]

25. Due process denied, a long documented history on Israel's part.

You think there were 9,000 Palestinian terrorists in 2006?

Then there are all the stone throwing terrorist children they detain, you want documentation
for that too? It is available.

Hamas was condemned and rightly so by human rights groups for taking Gilat hostage..to become
high and mighty about Israel's human rights record would be a lost cause. Just be glad
the guy finally gets to go home and many Palestinians, who have been nameless, not talked about,
especially not ever referred to by the White House, they get to go home too.

[shira]

26. Save your poutrage. This isn't about Palestinian human rights.

I haven't heard a peep from anyone on the so-called pro-Palestinian side about Palestinian human rights under Hamas' Taliban/Iranian style theocratic rule. Or refugees in the West Bank under PA authority but still languishing in camps. Little kids used as combatants, etc...

When you start really caring, we can have a real conversation about human rights there.

Until then, save the poutrage for the useful idiots.

[Jefferson23]

27. The human rights documents are inaccurate, made up? You're funny. n/t

[shira]

28. I made no such implication. n/t

[Jefferson23]

29. Good, as this negates the absurd claims you made earlier. n/t

[shira]

31. No, what's absurd is equating terrorists in Israeli prisons to Gilad Shalit as well as pretending...

....you give a rip about Palestinian human rights.

Not to mention that if these criminals were to serve out their sentences in the West Bank under PA maintenance, it would almost be like entrusting Hamas to do the same in Gaza.

A complete joke.

I recommend the real world. Try it some day.

[Jefferson23]

33. So you're not accepting the documentation I posted from the human rights

group..make up your mind already.

[shaayecanaan]

14. Eh?

So you're saying that Hamas views Jewish life as a thousand times more precious than Arab life? Or is there some other salient point that you were trying to make?

[King_David]

16. Hamas is fucked in the head.

I would not put any pathalogical reasoning beyond that group of cowards.

[bemildred]

18. Good, lots of people can go home where they belong. nt

[Jefferson23]

15. Anatomy of a deal

Shalit swap analysis: At the end of the day, Israel capitulated, Hamas showed flexibility

The military impasse, the stands taken by the Shin Bet and the Mossad, Hamas elasticizing its stance, the Arab Spring and the Palestinian bid in the UN – all of these contributed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to present the cabinet with the current Shalit deal, which would bring about the release of about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.



Several architects can take credit for the decision: First and foremost new Shin Bet Chief Yoram Cohen, followed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz and Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4134431,00.html

[bemildred]

19. Probably not a coincidence that both Bibi and Hamas need some happy talk right now. nt

[Jefferson23]

21. Two losers..it's funny in a weird kind of way. n/t

[Jefferson23]

30. List of exchange deal prisoners to be published by Sunday

Justice Ministry says public will have 48 hours to submit reservations, objections over the release of 450 prisoners as part of Shalit deal

Aviad Glickman Published: 10.12.11, 17:51 / Israel News


The list of 450 prisoners to be released in the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal will be published by Sunday morning, the Justice Ministry stated on Wednesday.

The ministry stated that the list will appear on the Israel Prisoner Service's website, and the public will have 48 hours "to submit reservations and objections."

Justice Ministry officials convened Wednesday morning, hours after the Cabinet voted in favor of a prisoner exchange deal that would see the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in return for 1,027 prisoners held in Israel.

The meeting, which was held at the office of Justice Ministry Director General Guy Rotkopf, dealt with all the legal issues surrounding the exchange deal as well as the necessary coordination between the all the parties involved.

Among the 450 prisoners to be released during the first stage of the deal, 279 were given life sentences. As soon as the least is published, the Ministry will set up an information center available to the public via telephone.

in full: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4134628,00.html

[azurnoir]

32. Lieberman walked out of Shalit deal debate, leaving 'no' vote behind

Three government ministers voted against the Gilad Shalit swap on Tuesday night – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon and National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau.

Lieberman barely spoke at the meeting, apart from two questions he presented to Shin Bet security service shief Yoram Cohen. After the security chiefs finished their presentations and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his opening speech, Lieberman left the conference room. Before he left – approximately two hours before the meeting was adjourned – he left a note with Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser saying he is voting against the deal.

<snip>

Contrary to Lieberman, Minister Ya’alon explained his opposition during the meeting, saying the deal will encourage terrorism and strengthen Hamas. "These terrorists were learning in prison, and they will go back to terrorism just like after the Gibril Deal," he said. "I personally know some of those who are to be released – these are bomb makers and unit operators. The present calm in Judea and Samaria is about to change."

Yet most of the ministers supported the deal. Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein – considered one of the most rightwing coalition members – recounted his days as a prisoner in the former Soviet Union. "I know how things look from the wrong side of the bars," he said, and called on the ministers to approve the deal.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lieberman-walked-out-of-shalit-deal-debate-leaving-no-vote-behind-1.389744