Addameer

On 11 October 2011, Israel and Hamas authorities concluded a deal whereby 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Palestinian prisoners were released in two stages, with 477 prisoners released on 18 October and the remaining 550 on 18 December. This factsheet looks at who the released prisoners are, in terms of gender, origin and time spent in prison.

On 11 October 2011, Israel and Hamas authorities concluded a deal whereby 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Palestinian prisoners were released in two stages, with 477 prisoners released on 18 October (click here for Addameer‘s photo gallery of the release) and the remaining 550 on 18 December.
 
Only 27 of the total 35 women held in Israeli prisons at the time of the exchange deal were included in the first list of prisoners to be released, despite agreement by Israel that all female political prisoners would be included in the exchange. Crucially, of the first 477 prisoners to be released, 205 of them were not reunited with their families as their release was made contingent on their deportation or transfer, both of which are in violation of international law. Click here to read Addameer and Al-Haq‘s statement on the terms of the prisoner exchange deal.
 
On 18 December, 550 prisoners were released in completion of the second phase of the exchange deal. Of the 550 prisoners released in this phase, all were released to their homes, however, only 6 of the 11 women in Israeli detention were included on the list of released prisoners. Click here to read Addameer‘s statement on this phase of releases.
 
The prisoner exchange deal in numbers
 
18 October release
 
The full list of the first 477 names published by the Israeli Prison Service is available in English and Hebrew. Below is an analysis of the 477 prisoners, providing information on the prisoners‘ background, place and condition of release, and arrest and sentencing. The analysis is also available in PDF format.
 
Background of the released prisoners
 
Gender
Number of prisoners
Men
450
Women
27

 

Origin
Number of prisoners
Gaza Strip
133 (132 men, 1 woman)
West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem)
290 (267 men, 23 women)
East Jerusalem
46 (45 men, 1 woman)
Golan Heights
1
Israel
7 (5 men, 2 women)

 

Political affiliation
Number of prisoners
Hamas
307
Fatah
99
Islamic Jihad
27
PFLP
24
DFLP
6
Other
14
 
Place of Release
 

 

Home releases
Number of prisoners
Released home without conditions
217
-in the Gaza Strip
133
-in the West Bank
77 (including 8 to East Jerusalem)
-in Israel
6
-in Golan Heights
1
Released home in the West Bank with security conditions
55 (including 6 to East Jerusalem)
Total
272

 

 

Deportations and transfers
Number of prisoners
Transfer to the Gaza Strip for 3 years
18 (1 from East Jerusalem, 17 from rest of West Bank)
Transfer to the Gaza Strip for indefinite period
146 (1 from Israel, 17 from East Jerusalem, 128 from rest of West Bank)
Deportation abroad
41 (13 from East Jerusalem, 28 from rest of West Bank)
Total
205

 

 
Details on Arrest and Sentencing
 
Date of Arrest
Number of prisoners
Total by period
1978-1979
3
Pre-Oslo years: 172 prisoners
1980-85
10
1986-1989
57
1990-1993
102
1994-1999
54
Oslo years: 54 prisoners
2000-2005
216 (including 13 women)
Second Intifada to the present: 250 prisoners
2006-2011
34 (including 14 women)

 

Sentencing
Number of prisoners
One or more life sentences
278
41-82 years
7
31-40 years
30
21-30 years
97
11-20 years
51
1-10 years
10
Administrative detention
3 (all women)
Detained until conclusion of legal proceedings
1

 

Date of release
Number of prisoners
2011 (less than one year to serve)
4
2012 (1 year to serve)
9
2013 (2 years to serve)
4
2014 (3 years to serve)
4
2015 (4 years to serve)
5
2016 (5 years to serve)
8
2017 (6 years to serve)
5
2018 (7 years to serve)
8
2019 (8 years to serve)
7
2020 (9 years to serve)
4
2021 (10 years to serve)
9
2022-2031 (11-20 years to serve)
97
2032-2041 (21-30 years to serve)
31
2042-2051 (31-40 years to serve)
3
2052-2075 (41-64 years to serve)
1
Life
278

 

18 December release

The full list of the 550 names published by the Israeli Prison Service is available in English and Hebrew. Below is an analysis of the 550 prisoners, providing information on the prisoners‘ background, date of arrest and sentencing. The analysis is also available in PDF format.

Background of the released prisoners

 
Gender
Number of prisoners
Men
544
Women
6

 

Origin
Number of prisoners
Gaza Strip
40
West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem)
506 (501 men, 5 women)
East Jerusalem
2 (1 man, 1 woman)
Jordan
2

 

Details on Arrest and Sentencing
 
 
Date of Arrest
Number of prisoners
1999
2
2001
7
2002
14
2003
13
2004
13
2005
4
2006
29
2007
70
2008
90
2009
81 (including 1 woman)
2010
109
2011
118 (including 5 women)
 
 
Sentencing
Number of prisoners
More than 10 years
49
9 years
13
8 years
23
7 years
26
6 years
29
5 years
65
4 years
51
3 years
52
2 years
72 (including 2 women)
1 year
98 (including 3 women)
Less than 1 year
71
Detained until conclusion of legal proceedings
1 (1 woman)

 

 

Date of release
Number of prisoners
December 2011 (less than 1 month to serve)
25
January 2012 (less than 2 months to serve)
75
2012
259
2013
80
2014
31
2015
31
2016
21
2017
21
2018
1
2019
5
Detained until conclusion of legal proceedings
1