550 inmates to be freed in stage 2 of Schalit deal

With exception of 2, prisoners do not include Hamas, Islamic Jihad members; most served two-thirds of their sentences.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, JOANNA PARASZCZCUK
Palestinian inmates greeted in east Jerusalem after release (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Palestinian inmates greeted in east Jerusalem after release
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
The second stage of the prisoner-exchange brokered with Hamas to release kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit was set to proceed at 8 p.m. Sunday.
With the exception of two female prisoners, the 550 prisoners scheduled for release on Sunday do not include Hamas or Islamic Jihad members, and none of the prisoners on the list were directly involved in any attacks that resulted in death or injury. Four hundred of the prisoners on the list have served two-thirds of their sentences.
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Most belong to Fatah. They were held for offenses as minor as stone-throwing or as serious as attempts to kill Israelis.
According to security forces' plan, the prisoners will pass through Red Cross checkpoints during their release. Two prisoners were scheduled to be transferred to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge, Army Radio reported on Sunday morning. Two were expected to be sent to east Jerusalem, and 41 to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint. The rest were set to be taken to the West Bank through the Bitunia passing.
Exactly two months ago, the IDF transferred 477 prisoners to Egypt and the West Bank in the first stage in the Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange.