Hamas delegation arrives in Egypt for prisoner swap deal

A five-member Palestinian delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo late Monday to implement the Egypt-brokered prisoner swap deal reached by Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement, the official news agency MENA reported. Under the deal, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive since June 2006 after being abducted in a cross-border raid southeast of Gaza, will be released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israel jails, according to MENA. The first phase of the swap is expected to start on Tuesday, with Israel freeing 450 male and 27 female prisoners, while 550 others will be released after two months. According to the deal, Tuesday's swap will be implemented at the gate of the Rafah crossing point on the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt.