Israeli soldier released in prisoner exchange

Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was freed from five years' captivity Tuesday morning in return for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Sgt Shalit was seized in 2006 by Hamas militants who tunnelled into Israel. On Monday, the Israeli Supreme Court turned down an appeal for a 48-hour delay from the families of victims of attacks by Palestinian militants. The first of 477 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed on Tuesday began leaving their jails at dawn.
A large convoy left a prison in the south of Israel while a smaller group left another in the centre of the country - both under heavy security. The remaining 550 are scheduled to be released next month. Meanwhile, a plan for settling thousands more Jews in a strategic part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has quietly cleared a key bureaucratic hurdle, threatening to cut a link between Jerusalem and the West Bank and endanger already slim peace prospects between the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Quartet envoys are set to meet next week in the region to nudge the two sides back to the negotiating table. Listen