Palestinians celebrate Shalit prisoner swap deal

Palestinians celebrate Shalit  prisoner swap deal There have been celebrations in the Gaza Strip and in Jerusalem following the confirmation of a Palestinian-Israeli prisoner swap deal. People went down to the streets in cities of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday evening, to celebrate the completion of the prisoner swap deal with Israel
The participants chanted slogans in support of the Qassam Brigades, and the groups that captured Shalit, and called on the Palestinian factions to kidnap more soldiers, to ensure the release of all prisoners from Israeli jails.
Participants carried Palestinian, and different  fractions flags, and chanting victory slogans.
Many citizens have also gone the Palestinian prisoners homes  to congratulate the parents, wishing that  their children’s names will be among the prisoners to be released.
Hamas has also put large screens in public places in Gaza Strip, in order to allow people to listen to, Khaled Meshaal’s speech.
The political bureau member of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya, said to the people gathered in front of the Legislative Council in Gaza City that: "The fulfillment of the deal is an accomplishment to every Palestinian, and we will continue until the liberation of all prisoners.”
The Hammad also congratulated the people, and dedicated his thanks to the resistance factions, in particular,  Al-Qassam Brigades, which has been able over the past years to keep the soldier captive, and led the negotiation process strongly, he said: " the Palestinian victory starts from this great day, we will continue our victories till we liberate Palestine.”
Hammad dedicated a message to the prisoners who were not amongst the swap deal, and told them that the resistance factions will never forget them, and will do its best to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, to liberate all the Palestinian prisoners.
The Prime Minister of Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has developed the necessary arrangements for the receiving prisoners who will be returning to their land and their parents.
Minister of Prisoners' Affairs in Gaza, Attallah Abu Al-Sebah, said that this prisoner’s swap deal is "one of the best exchange deals with the occupation.”
Abu Al-Sebah added in a press statement, which "the Arabs today"  received a copy of , on Tuesday evening that the swap deal will release 300 prisoners sentenced for life, and will include women and children prisoners, and will include the leaders of the Palestinian factions, adding that the deal is a victory for all Palestinians.
More than 1,000 Palestinians are to be freed in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who has been held for more than five years, under the deal announced on Tuesday.
Shalit was captured by Hamas, the Palestinian faction which governs Gaza, in a cross-border raid in 2006. The Israelis have said he will be released within days.
The Israeli cabinet approved the deal after a late-night meeting, with 26 ministers voting in favour and three opposing it.
Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, confirmed in a televised address from Damascus, Syria, that 1,027 Palestinians in Israeli prisons would be released in exchange for Shalit.
"This is a national achievement that we should be proud of," Meshaal said.
Following the announcement, Palestinians poured out onto the streets in Jabaliya, a refugee camp in Gaza, where celebratory gunfire and car horns could be heard all around, Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston said.
"It's really important to remember that the first part of the siege on Gaza really started after the capture of Gilad Shalit and intensified after Hamas won the elections and took power in Gaza," she said.
"The people in Gaza have had very much to bear the brunt of the capture of Shalit with a five-year-long siege, which means they haven't been let out of Gaza, exports and imports have been severely restricted, and for some time hardly anything was allowed in."
On the other hand, Mohammed Al-Nahal, a member of the Revolutionary Council of Fata, has welcomed the completion of Shalit prisoner swap deal.
Al-Nahal added in a press statement, which ‘Arabstoday’ received of a copy of,  that the prisoners issue is a national united  goal, which is important to everyone,  which was clear when all the Palestinian factions attended together all the activities regarding the prisoners issue.
He said that the liberation of the Palestinian prisoners is considered as substrate basic in the Palestinian president political program. Pointing that Abbas’s speeches in the UN included the importance of releasing the Palestinian prisoners.
And he called on all the Palestinian to untie and achieve the reconciliation process, in order to achieve the rest of the Palestinians rights, in particular the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah official in Ramallah, said that the swap deal would be catastrophic for all Palestinians,if it doesn’t include Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat , or the other  Palestinian leaders, despite the joy they would feel by releasing the other prisoners.
Izzat Al Rishq, a member of the Political Hamas Bureau, said that a number of the most prominent leaders are not listed in the swap deal that took place yesterday.
He said on his Facebook page, that  Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti,  and the Secretary General of the Popular Front, Ahmed Sadat are not included in the list ‘despite the strenuous efforts we have made to the last moment .’
He has also stated that a number of prominent leaders of the al-Qassam Brigades, are also not
included in the list, such as Abdullah Barghouti,  Abbas Al-Sayed and Ibrahim Hamed.
Izzat Al Rishq said that the total number of the released prisoners is 1027, where they will only release 450 male prisoners and 27 female prisoners in the first stage. Prisoners will be from Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.