Justice Ministry will publish list of prisoners to be freed

Public will be able to petition High Court against the release.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Palestinian prisoners in Israel's Ketziot prison 311 (R) (photo credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
Palestinian prisoners in Israel's Ketziot prison 311 (R)
(photo credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
The Justice Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon that it will publish a list of the 450 male prisoners and 27 female prisoners due for release as part of the first stage of the deal to return Gilad Schalit.
The list will be published on the Prisons Service website by Sunday morning at the latest, the ministry said.
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The announcement came after a meeting in the office of the Justice Ministry director-general, Dr. Guy Rotkoff, head of the interministerial team dealing with legal and administrative matters connected with the release of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the ministry spokesman, the meeting discussed the legal issues involved in the Schalit swap deal, including the necessary coordination between the various parties involved.
The Justice Ministry also announced plans to operate an information center, which will be available to answer telephone inquiries from the public before the prisoners are released.
The public will also be able to express their objections to the prisoners’ release to the High Court of Justice.
Meir Indor, chairman of the terror victims organization Almagor has already announced that the group intends to petition the High Court against the prisoner releases.
In an interview with Channel 2 news on Wednesday, Almagor slammed the decision to release the 1,027 prisoners, and said the public would end up paying the price for the releases.
“This is a terrible deal, and Netanyahu expects us to accept it but it is very bad for the Jews,” Indor told Channel 2.
However, lawyers said that any High Court petition by Almagor, or any other group against the decision to release the Palestinian prisoners, is not likely to succeed.
Attorney Nitsana Darshan- Leitner, director of the Israel Law Center, told The Jerusalem Post that the High Court is unlikely to interfere, based on past rulings in petitions against prisoner releases.
A 2005 High Court petition by Almagor against a decision by then prime-minister Ariel Sharon to release 900 Palestinian prisoners was rejected in a unanimous ruling. In that judgement, then-Supreme Court president Aharon Barak held that the government’s decision had been ‘reasonable’ and had come as part of a diplomatic process.
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