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Palestinian inmates begin leaving Israeli jails: witness
  • | Reuters | October 18, 2011 08:32 AM

Vehicles carrying Palestinian prisoners began departing from jails in Israel on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, setting in motion a phased prisoner exchange that is meant to secure the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Palestinian women walk past a mural depicting captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip October 15, 2011.

In the deal reached between Israel and the Gaza Strip\'s Islamist rulers Hamas, Shalit will be freed after five years of captivity in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Its implementation is expected to take several hours.

The first vehicles that left a jail in central Israel were carrying female prisoners, most to be freed in the West Bank. They were accompanied by security personnel from Egypt, who mediated the swap deal, an official said.

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