Israeli officials begin work on pardons for Palestinian prisoners

[News_Editor]

Israeli officials begin work on pardons for Palestinian prisoners

2011-10-16 16:47:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli officials have begun dealing with pardons for Palestinian prisoners who are to be released in exchange for captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Schalit. He is expected to return to Israel on Tuesday after more than five years in captivity.

An announcement issued by the President's spokeswoman on Saturday night stated that attorney Emi Palmor, the head of the Pardons Division in the Justice Ministry, is expected to deliver the clemency petitions for President Shimon Peres to sign.

Even though Peres may have reservations about a large number of the pardons that are being given to prisoners, he is unlikely to do anything that will jeopardize the exchange deal. A list of prisoners to be released was also made available to the public on Sunday.

A total of 450 male prisoners and 27 female prisoners are due to be released by Israel as part of the first stage of the Schalit deal, which is to be followed by the release of Shalit himself on Tuesday. Israel will then, within two months, release another 550 prisoners of its own choosing.

All prisoners to be released as part of the deal are required to sign a document in which they pledge not to engage in terrorist activity in the future. Israeli officials previously said they will hunt down any released prisoners if they are found to have engaged in terrorism.

Shalit was abducted by Hamas militants on June 25, 2006 and has been held in captivity since. His family has been attempting for years to have contact with him but without avail. The only signs of life have been three letters, an audio tape released a year after he was taken and a brief video broadcast on October 2, 2009.

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