Israel has released six Hamas cabinet ministers jailed after the terror group kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in the Gaza Strip in 2006, defense officials said Monday.
A Palestinian supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), holds a poster of the group's leader Ahmed Saadat, who is currently jailed in Israel and a printed photo of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, during a rally calling for the release of Saadat in Ramallah.
Photo: AP
Defense officials said the ministers had just completed their prison terms and their release was not connected to a prisoner exchange deal of the Schalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The officials spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media.
Forty-five Hamas lawmakers arrested in the West Bank following Schalit's capture were convicted of belonging to an illegal organization.
Hamas said 15 of those arrested remain in prison.
