[Ppnews] Palestine prisoner exchange

[Political Prisoner News]

Al Quds Al Arabia: Prisoner exchange ready to be implemented

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=550&Itemid=1

Palestine News Network
Thursday, 14 September 2006

The London-based Al Quds Al Arabia daily reported Thursday morning 
that a prisoner exchange between the Palestinians and Israelis was 
completed within the last few hours.

The delay is controversy over which of the 10,000 Palestinian 
political prisoners in Israeli jails will be released. Who they will 
be exchanged for has never been a point of contention as the 
Palestinians have only one: the Israeli soldier captured while 
invading the southern Gaza Strip in late June.

After the Israeli court issued its ruling Tuesday that imprisoned 
Palestinian government officials must be released, hopes went on high 
that a deal was soon to come.

The Parliament deputies, Authority ministers, and several other 
elected officials of local government are to be released shortly, if 
the sources prove correct. After that 740 Palestinian political 
prisoners will be released in two stages: the first at the end of 
this month, including women and children after the coalition 
government is formed. The second stage is to take place at the end of 
October and will be comprised of hundreds of political prisoners 
representing all parties and factions.

A Palestinian source early in the Jordanian capital, Amman, spoke 
openly on the details of the plan. The source said that the Israeli 
soldier would be handed over to Egyptian authorities today or Sunday, 
and that at the same time Israel will release elected Palestinian 
government officials.

The source revealed that during a clandestine meeting on Tuesday in 
Amman between President Abbas and Egyptian Intelligence Minister, 
Omar Suleiman, the details of the exchange were laid out.

The source said he expected that the Israelis will release the 
General Secretary of Fateh in the West Bank, Marwan Al Barghouti who 
is in Israeli prison for four times life. Others to be immediately 
released are Abdel Rahim Malluah, the Deputy Secretary General of the 
leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who has been in 
Israeli prison since 2003, and Raed Salim, the Secretary General of 
the Arab Liberation Front.

The sources pointed out that with the release of the Israeli soldier 
Israeli forces will stop military operations and the armed resistance 
will stop launching projectiles from the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mahmoud Az Zahar, 
issued a statement yesterday which PNN received indicating that a 
deal was close.


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