Gaza – Ma’an – Israel agreed to release 20 Palestinian women prisoners in exchange for a one-minute video of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was captured by militants in 2006, sources said Wednesday.

The video, to be handed over on Friday, is supposed to be definite proof that Shalit is still alive, the Israeli government confirmed.

An Egyptian official said in a statement Wednesday morning that, "It is doubtless that the Israeli decision will enhance the efforts to complete a prisoner swap deal."

Egyptian and German mediators will continue to work on a deal to exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for Shalit. In the meantime Israel will receive proof Shalit is alive and details about his condition.

A spokesperson for Hamas’ armed Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said in a press conference in Gaza, “The Palestinian factions who are detaining Shalit, are still adamant about their demands to complete a prisoner swap deal.” He pointed out that the current step was a result of German mediation with support from Egypt.

With regard to the identity of the political affiliation of the female prisoners to be released, Abu Ubaida say four are affiliated to Hamas, five affiliated to Fatah, seven without political affiliation, three affiliated to the Islamic Jihad, and one affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

He also said that three of the prisoners are from Hebron, eight from Nablus, four from Ramallah, three from Bethlehem, one from Jenin, and one from the Gaza Strip along with her infant child.

The video is only one minute long, according to Abu Mujahid, a spokesman of another group involved in Shalit’s capture, the Popular Resistance Committees.

An Israeli government statement said that the decision to release the 20 women came during a Security Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning according to the proposal from the team responsible for negotiating the release of Gilad Shalit.

According to the statement, the decision comes “ahead of the decisive stages in the negotiations for Gilad Shalit's release.”

In the statement Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu commended Haggai Hadas and the negotiating team for their professional work, far from the public eye and said, "It is important that the entire world know that Gilad Shalit is alive and well and that Hamas is responsible for his well-being and fate."

Also quoted in the government statement, a senior source in Netanyahu’s Bureau reports that "the negotiations are still expected to be long and arduous." The source also said, "We will continue to make determined efforts to bring Gilad back home, safe and sound, as quickly as possible."

Roni Daniel, the security analyst for Israel’s Channel Two, said that an overall swap deal remains unlikely “despite the fact that the the German mediator succeeded in making a move.”

He also highlighted that the 20-name list would not include Amina Muna, the Palestinian woman who lured an Israeli adolescent to Ramallah where he was killed by militants affiliated to Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades.

According to Daniel, the names of the women were published on the Israel Prison Service website, in order to Israeli citizens and organizations the chance to appeal to stop their release through the High Court of Justice.

The following is the list of prisoners designated for release – both “security prisoners” and “detainees.” The names have been transliterated from Hebrew into English.

Aya Quisi
Regina Janazra
Rima Abu Eisha
Hiba An-Natsha
Sumoud Abdullah Khalil
Maymouna Jibrin
Jihad Abu Turki
Baraah Malki
Layla Salah
Fatima Az-Zaq
Nivin Duqqa
Kifah Bakhsh
Linan Abu Julmi
Shirine Hasan
Sanaa Salah
Manal Saba’na
Zuhur Abid Hamdan
Hiyam Yousif
Nahida Farahat
Najwa Abdul-Ghani


Ma'an correspondents contributed reporting from Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Cairo.