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A prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement is under way, with Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit reportedly on his way to Israel after having been received in Egypt from Gaza.
Shalit was handed over to Egyptian authorities early on Tuesday morning.
Ninety-six Palestinian prisoners left the Ketziot prison, bound for the Ofer military camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, public radio reported early on Tuesday morning.
Another 334 were in the process of being transferred to the Kerem Shalom crossing, at the southern-most point of the Israel-Gaza border. The first prisoners were dressed in civilian clothes, with their hands and feet manacled, the radio report said.
A convoy of vehicles left the Israeli Katsiout prison in Naqab, near the Egyptian border, before dawn on Tuesday. Vehicles carrying female prisoners also left HaSharon Prison in central Israel.
The swap will formally take place at 07:00 GMT, when Shalit is expected to arrive at an Israeli airbase and the first Palestinian prisoners are to be released.
The swap, in which a total of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in two phases, began a day after Israel's supreme court rejected appeals to halt the deal.
Relatives of Israelis killed by some of the Palestinians set to be released had urged the court to intervene, but it ruled against them, saying the matter was a political decision outside its domain.
The actual release process was to begin with Shalit being handed over to either a Red Cross representative or an Egyptian official in Gaza who was to confirm to Israel that he was alive and in good health.
Israel was then to release 27 women prisoners, after which Shalit was to cross into the Egyptian Sinai.
Shalit, now 25, was captured in June 2006 by fighters who crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas.
After his return, Shalit is to be flown by helicopter to the Tel Nof air base in southern Israel. Later he will be flown to his home in northern Israel.
Israel has deployed a heavy security contingent of more than 1,000 police officers to secure the routes of the convoys, and both Israel and Hamas say there will be tight controls on information until after Shalit has been handed over.
Celebrations prepared
Hamas has declared Tuesday a national holiday and erected a giant podium in Gaza City's Al-Katiba Park, where it plans to transport the prisoners after they cross into the Palestinian enclave from Egypt.
Ismail Haniya, the prime minister, and members of the Hamas government in Gaza, leaders of other factions, relatives and tens of thousands of onlookers were expected to welcome the prisoners.
Three days of celebrations were planned across the occupied West Bank, with President Mahmoud Abbas welcoming returning prisoners.
But not everyone will be celebrating. More than 4,000 Palestinian "security prisoners" will remain in Israeli jails.
A short walk from the al-Katiba Park, relatives have set a up a tent in solidarity with prisoners who began a hunger strike on September 27, because Israel dropped some of their privileges, such as the opportunity to study for an academic degree.
Saree Makdisi, an author and professor at the University of California, told Al Jazeera that the value of the prisoner swap should not be over-estimated.
"We have to remember that the Israelis raid the West Bank literally on a nightly basis, usually ten times a day, an average of 300-400 raids a month, " he said.
"On all these raids, they collect prisoner after prisoner, so in an average month, they capture 300-400 prisoners, held against international law, held in appalling circumstances.
"The news of the release is good news for the thousand prisoners involved, but the Israelis can easily replace that number within months".
'Victory'
Of the first tranche of prisoners to be released, 297 will be released into Gaza and 117 will return the West Bank, including 15 to East Jerusalem.
Another 40 Palestinians will be deported overseas to countries which so far include Turkey, Syria and Qatar, Hamas officials said.
A Hamas official who spoke to Al Jazeera on Monday declared that the swap agreement was a "victory" for all Palestinians, regardless of party affiliation; and that the group negotiated for the release of prisoners from all parties.
A recent poll by the Yediot Aharonot daily showed that eight out of ten Israelis support the swap.
PHOTO CAPTION
Palestinian men work on the stage that will be used to welcome prisoners released in the swap with Israel in Gaza City, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011.
Al-Jazeera
