Hamas and Israel in deal to swap 1,000 prisoners for one Israeli soldier

Richard Hall
The Independent

October 12, 2011

What could prove a historic deal to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza has been agreed between Israel and Hamas, concluding five years of negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed in acrimony and violence.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that he had telephoned the parents of Gilad Shalit, the soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid in 2006, to tell them that their son would be home “within days”.

Mr Netanyahu said that a deal with Hamas was initialled last Thursday and signed yesterday, adding that he got “the best deal we could get”. He had earlier been quoted by an Israeli television station as saying “the window has been opened for a historic deal”.

Hamas leader Khalad Meshal confirmed the deal and said that it would see 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in two stages, the first 450 within a week. The group would include 315 serving life sentences and all Palestinian women in Israeli prisons, he said, hailing the deal as a “national accomplishment” and declaring those to be released were heroes who would “come back to freedom and struggle against occupation”.

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5 Responses to “Hamas and Israel in deal to swap 1,000 prisoners for one Israeli soldier”

  1. So ummmm….I thought I was the first to reply. Guess not. Anyway – Elijah will come hand in hand with Moses; burn it all up and start over. Just like the floods only this time fire. I am a witness and a testament of spiritual abuse within the church. Whadda say Rambo?

  2. It looks good for Netunyahu to do this. Gives him a responsible look. I could just see someone advising him now, “Make sure you bring that boy home, benny, or I`ll have your head!“

  3. Evil already has a name…it’s Hamas!!!

  4. If evil were a big oak tree, the roots would be named Nutt and YeaHoo

  5. Absolutely not. Israel cannot even rescue a widow and her son before Sukkot. Israel needs to decide who holds the fucking cards.

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