CAIRO: Speculations have surge though Palestinian media, as relatives, prisoners and politicians are waiting to see who will be included in second phase of the Shalit prisoner swap. “We don't know if anyone really will get out yet, and we don't want to get our hopes up,” a young Ramallah student and activist told BikyaMasr.com No names have been published yet, but anxieties in the West Bank and Gaza have been strong, fearing that the second step will not fully materialize. As Palestinian cities saw great celebrations of the homecomings last week, prisoner's rights groups called on Palestinians to remember those still behinds bars. Groups have been calling for the second swap to include the more than 160 Palestinian children who still remain in Israeli prisons. The United Nations Children's Fund and other international organizations are appealing to the Israeli government to release all Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. However, Hamas officials remain convinced that the second part of the deal will suit the best interests of the Palestinians. In the second part of what has been considered a “high-profile” swap, a remaining 550 Palestinians are to be set free within the next two months. Israeli Defence Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was set free last Tuesday, as 447 Palestinians out of a total of 1,027 were exchanged and transferred to the West Bank and Gaza. 40 Palestinians were exiled to third countries. Many were concerned over the fact that prominent political leaders Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat were not included. Though the Hamas representatives who negotiated the first phase of the deal will not be directly involved in this second phase, they have set up demands for the swap. These demands will be provided for by Egyptian mediators, Hamas officials stated. As Israel is interested in keeping good relations with Egypt, their demands will be respected. The Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday that the Israeli intelligence Shin Bet had said that only detainees of petty crimes would be subject to liberation in the second phase. But Hamas senior official Mahmoud Zahhar said the most prominent political detainees would be freed, and also stressed that Egypt would not allow Israel to “release chicken thieves and criminals.” “We will intervene and have discussions with the Egyptians since we set the criteria and Egypt knows that,” he told the Palestinian news website Ma'an News. According to Hamas, the prisoners to be freed should not have sentences approaching completion, and they should preferably be charged with “security issues.” Priority will be given to the elderly and the sick. This second stage of the Shalit prisoner swap has added to earlier speculations on the nature and implications of the deal. The sudden common interest and cooperation between Hamas and Israel on the swap came as a surprise to many. Israel is understood to prefer negotiating with the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority rather than the Gaza-based Hamas. While parts of Israeli press proclaimed an era of new, more peaceful communications with Hamas, leader of the Israeli opposition party Kadima, Tzipi Livni is concerned. She fears that the deal has strengthened and legitimized Hamas at the expense of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. Livni believes the second part of the swap deal must be negotiated with the moderate Ramallah-based Abbas government, so that Hamas is not bolstered at the expense of the Palestinian Authority. BM
