Nineteen female Palestinian detainees have been released from an Israeli prison in return for a videotape of a soldier captured by Gaza fighters in June 2006. A 20th female prisoner will be released, probably next week, the office of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said.
Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank, said those freed on Friday were handed over to the Red Cross after their release from the Hasharon prison.
Eighteen of the prisoners were released to the West Bank, and the other, Fatima al-Zeeq with her 18-month-old baby was returned to Gaza.
"Today is like a huge party," said Nisrin Hamdan, 26, as she waited outside Ofer military camp with several of her children, all wearing T-shirts bearing a picture of their 60-year-old mother, held for assisting a suicide bomber.
"My mother has been absent for seven years and today we will have her in our home."
Also among those awaiting their loved ones was Nawal Hossein, 37, an aunt of a 22-year-old prisoner who was serving a 20-month sentence for plotting to become a suicide bomber.
Odeh said the one-minute video received in the exchange by Israeli officials was seen as proof of life for its captured soldier, Gilad Shalit. The video was sent directly to family members in northern Israel.
An Israeli official who viewed the video said Shalit looked healthy and coherent.
The exchange deal marks a breakthrough in nearly three years of Egyptian-brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the soldier. German mediators joined the talks in July.
Shalit was seized by fighters from Hamas and allied groups during a raid on an Israeli border base in 2006.Until Friday, the only signs of life from Shalit have been several letters and an audio recording. Only one of the letters - written three months after his capture - has been released, just last month. Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross to visit the soldier.
Hamas is demanding that Israel release hundreds of prisoners, many of whom are serving lengthy sentences for attacks on Israelis, in exchange for the soldier.
Currently, more than 9,000 Palestinian prisoners remain behind Israeli bars.
The Palestinian Liberation Organisation, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas all insist there can be no peace deal with Israel before all these prisoners are freed.
Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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