A convoy carries Palestinians prisoners who are to be exchanged for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, departing from Ktsiot prison camp in southern Israel’s Negev desert, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Israeli officials say the last preparations have been made for a prisoner swap in which hundreds of Palestinians are to be traded for the Israeli soldier held in Gaza for more than five years. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Palestinian officials in Gaza said a captured Israeli soldier was moved across the border into Egypt early Tuesday, beginning an elaborate prisoner swap deal in which hundreds of Palestinian inmates are to be freed in return for the captured tank crewman.
The officials said an SUV filled with armed men whisked Sgt. Gilad Schalit across the border and quickly returned to Gaza early Tuesday. Buses of Palestinian prisoners were also beginning to move from Israel into Egypt en route to Gaza, the said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Israel’s Army Radio station, citing anonymous Israeli officials, confirmed the report.
In all, Israel is slated to release 1,027 prisoners for Schalit, who had been held in Gaza since he was captured more than five years ago by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid.
Before dawn, convoys of white vans and trucks transported hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to the locations in the West Bank and on the Israel-Egypt border where they were to be freed. In Gaza, the Red Cross confirmed that the prisoners slated for release had arrived at the nearby border crossing.