OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) – Israel on Sunday released a list of 477 Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal to secure Gilad Shalit’s freedom, many of whom were involved in bloody attacks, Agence France-Presse reported.

Hundreds of them are serving life terms after being convicted of involvement in attacks, including the 2001 bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub that killed 21 people and an attack on a Netanya hotel where 29 people died a year later.

Details of the prisoners’ identities were made public just 48 hours before the exchange was expected to take place, although the specific details of the handover were still being worked out, officials said.

Reuters reported that Israel bussed some 430 Palestinian prisoners under heavy guard to a holding facility in the Negev desert on Sunday in preparation for the exchange, quoting officials said.

Under the agreement signed last Tuesday, Israel is to free a total of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of the 25-year-old soldier, who has been in captivity in Gaza for more than five years.

If the deal goes through, it will be the largest number of Palestinian prisoners ever freed by Israel to secure the release of just one person.

It will also be the first time in 26 years that a captured soldier has been returned to Israel alive

READ MORE ON JORDAN TIMEShttp://www.jordantimes.com/?news=42353