Israel was on Sunday preparing to release 550 Palestinian prisoners who will be freed after nightfall to complete a swap deal which brought about the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit. The release operation was expected to take place late in the evening, when the prisoners would be bussed to drop-off points near the West Bank city of Ramallah and along the Gaza border. Among the prisoners earmarked for release is Salah Hamuri, a French-Palestinian who was convicted of plotting to assassinate a Jewish religious leader and had been due to complete his seven-year sentence in March.
Unlike in the first stage of the deal, which saw the release in October of 477 Palestinians including hundreds serving life for killing Israelis, Sunday’s operation will not include anyone “with blood on their hands,” officials on both sides said. The names of the prisoners to be released were selected by Israel, and none of them belong to Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Israeli officials said priority had been given to members of the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
HAMAS, FATAH BEGIN KEY UNITY TALKS IN CAIRO: The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas began meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss ways of implementing a stalled reconciliation deal, an official said. Delegates from the two factions met “to prepare for the comprehensive dialogue” which is to take place on Tuesday in the Egyptian capital, Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah delegation said. The two were to hold talks on Thursday to discuss ways of implementing a landmark reconciliation deal between their rival movements which was signed in May but which has never got off the ground.