Palestinians mark 2nd anniv. of Wafa al-Ahrar deal

Palestinian people marked today the second anniversary of the first phase of Wafa al-Ahrar deal that was signed between Hamas movement and Israeli occupation under Egyptian mediation in 2011.

Nearly 1027 Palestinian captives, from different Palestinian areas and affiliated to different Palestinian factions, were released in the deal.

On 11 October 2011, Hamas movement declared that it had reached a deal with the occupation authorities to liberate Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the exchange deal as a "difficult decision, while the spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades Abu Obeida said that the deal was "a historic achievement for the Palestinian resistance."

On the same day, the Israeli government approved the deal after 26 ministers voted in favor of it while three senior cabinet ministers including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected the deal.

The head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal declared at that time that 1027 Palestinian captives are going to be released in exchange of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Meshaal also stated that 315 captives sentenced to life terms are included in the deal in addition to 27 Palestinian female captives.

The exchange deal includes two phases.

The first phase will release 450 captives in addition to 27 female captives during a week, while 550 captives will be liberated in a second phase after a month, Meshaal continued.

On October 18, 2011 the Israeli authorities transferred the liberated prcaptives from the Israeli prisons to Gaza and West Bank, while some of them were deported outside the occupied territories.

After a short period of time, al-Qassam Brigades handed the Israeli soldier to the Egyptian authorities. Israeli doctors conducted medical tests on him to make sure of his health condition.

Meanwhile, Shalit was transferred in a military plane to Tel Nof base near "Tel Aviv", where he was received by Israeli senior officials headed by the Prime Minister Netanyahu before being transferred to his parents' house.

Nearly 40 liberated captives were deported from Cairo airport to Syria, Qatar and Turkey.

On December 15, the IPS has published a list containing 550 captives' names as part of the second phase of the exchange deal under Egyptian mediation.

On December 18, 550 Palestinian captives were released and transferred to West Bank and Gaza Strip.