RAMALLAH: Israel has released the names of the 20 Palestinian women it has decided to release in exchange for a one-minute videotape of its soldier Gilad Shalit who is in Hamas captivity, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Wednesday.
Abu Mujahed, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees — one of the Hamas allies that took part in the raid in which Shalit was captured — said the one-minute videotape would be delivered to Israel by Friday. “It shows Shalit alive and moving,” Abu Mujahed, said.
Shalit, now 23, was spirited into the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters who tunnelled into Israel three years ago in a raid in which two Israeli soldiers and two of the attackers were killed.
A statement issued by the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Security Cabinet decided to respond positively to this initiative as a “confidence-building measure within the framework of the indirect negotiations” with Hamas over Shalit.
The statement added that the decision came upon the recommendation of the Israeli team working for Shalit’s release, headed by Hagai Hadas.
Seven of the prisoners are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, six are members of Hamas, five are Islamic Jihad Operatives, and two are members of Fatah. Hamas radio and TV began broadcasting victory songs and footage of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons following the dramatic development.
Deputy Hamas Politburo chief Mousa Abu Marzouk said the deal “was an important step ahead of releasing all women Palestinian prisoners.”
