Gaza militants give prisoner list for Israeli soldier swap

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-09-2007 09:18

Israel is reviewing a list of Palestinian prisoners that Gaza militants want released in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier. The act is seen as a step towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The release of Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit is a precondition set by Israel for any possible progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort.

Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian Information Minister, said, "If the Israelis want Shalit to come back safely and quickly they have to immediately respond to the Palestinian offer and accept the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit so that the process can go on very quickly."

A swap could also help the new Palestinian unity government a coalition of Fatah and Hamas groups in its quest for international acceptance.

Ghazi Hamad, Hamas spokesman, said, "If the Israeli side deal positively with this list and with these names, I expect that we can achieve a compromise and achieve a deal in a very short time."

But there were conflicting reports on the captors' demands, with some saying the list contained close to 500 names, whilst others say there are twice as many.

A Palestinian close to the negotiators was told that among those on the list is Marwan Barghouti, serving five consecutive life terms for his role in shooting attacks that killed four Israelis and a Greek monk.

Hamas-allied militants, who seized Shalit on 25th June, handed the list to Egyptian mediators who recently delivered it to Israel.

An Israeli newspaper, reported that Israel's Shin Bet security service is reviewing the list and will soon give its recommendations to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Shalit's captors, are demanding the release of 1,400 Palestinian prisoners.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan