From Ashkelon to Mitzpeh Ramon. Saadat (Archives)
Photo: Reuters
Prison Service: Saadat transfer not related to Shalit deal
PFLP leader transferred from Shikma to Ramon prison due to 'internal considerations'; Palestinian news agency says transport connected to possible prisoner swap
The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported Tuesday that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) transferred Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Secretary-General Ahmed Saadat to another prison as part of an exchange deal that would see IDF soldier Gilad shalit released.
The IPS confirmed that Saadat, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for heading an illegal terrorist organization, was transferred from Ashkelon's Shikma Prison to the Ramon Prison, located near Mitzpeh Ramon, but said the transport was due to "internal IPS considerations."
When Israeli forces seized Saadat in March 2006 in a raid on a Jericho prison, he stood accused of planning the 2001 murder of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi, which was carried out by four PFLP terrorists as revenge for Israel's assassination of Saadat's predecessor in the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa.
Prosecutors later decided not to pursue this case against Saadat, instead pressing the charges against four PFLP gunmen who were seized along with him in Jericho.
The PFLP slammed the verdict as political.
On Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The two leaders discussed a series of diplomatic issues, most likely including the efforts to release Shalit, who was kidnapped into Gaza on June 25, 2006.
