Shalit's captors fear Israeli deception on the prisoners' deal

Nablus - Ma'an - The prisoners' deal is still not finalised. The reason, according to sources close to Hamas, is that the captors are concerned about last-minute Israeli deception.

The sources told Ma'an that the Palestinians trust the Egyptian side but they have no trust in the Israelis. The Palestinian side is insisting that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is involved in the deal but, so far, the Israelis are refusing this idea.

Ma'an has learned that the talks between the Israeli and Palestinian side, through Egyptian mediation, has succeeded in clarifying the form of the deal and assigning dozens of names of Palestinian prisoners to be released.

The sources say that especially prisoners who have spent long periods inside Israeli jails will be included. There will be four prisoners who have spent more than 25 years in Israeli prison and thirteen prisoners who have spent between 20 and 25 years behind Israeli bars.

The sources also said that intensive efforts were made by the Egyptians in the last 48 hours in an attempt to make the deal succeed. The sources added that the focus of the attention is now in regards to how to hand the captured soldier over to the Egyptian side.

The sources added that Israel should vow not to re-arrest the released prisoners after just a few days of their release.

Link:

Prisoners' exchange: Palestinian side demands 1,000 prisoners plus all women and child prisoners be released