The security prisoners jailed in Israel
are closely following the talks
for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Some of the prisoners hope to be released as part of the prisoner exchange deal. According to reports, Israel is willing to release 800 of them in three separate stages.
Sources at the Israel Prison Service (IPS) said that despite the rumors about an exchange deal, there are no special preparations among the prisoners. They noted, however, that the Palestinians jailed in Israel are talking amongst themselves about the issue, but are mainly discussing other issues.
"So far, no prisoner has started packing his bags," an IPS official said.
A total of about 8,800 Palestinian prisoners are jailed in Israeli prisons; 6,200 of them are serving time while 2,600 are detained; 7,400 of the prisoners live in West Bank area and the rest are from the Gaza Strip. Ninety-six of the prisoners are women and 274 are under 18 years of age.
About 70 percent of the convicts were labeled as "having blood on their hands," and 706 of them were sentenced to life in prison. A total of 2,700 life sentences were given to the prisoners, while some were given multiple life sentences.
Among the detainees, there are also some senior members of Hamas, including the Palestinian vice premier, the parliament speaker, three ministers, and 19 members of parliament. These senior members were arrested following Shalit's kidnapping.
Other well-known prisoners include former Fatah Secretary-General in the West Bank Marwan Barghouti, and PFLP Secretary-Genreal Ahmad Saadat and his deputy Abd al-Rahim Malluh, both of whom were also involved in the assassination of the minister Rehavam Zeevi.
According to IPS data, the first name of 5,400 of the security prisoners is Ahmad. Each prisoner has at least three names.
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