Palestinian prisoners deported to Qatar under the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas say they were aware they could be sent abroad as part of a negotiated swap as early as 2006 Al Jazeera reported
Speaking exclusively to Al Jazeera, Abdelhakim Hnaini and fellow prisoner, Hazem Asili, who have been in jail since 1993 and 1986 respectively, explained that in 2006, just days after the Gilad Shalit's capture, they were well aware that deportation could be their fate.
"In prison I was one of the leaders of the Hamas prisoners," Hnaini said on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after his arrival in Qatar.
Following the capture of the Israeli soldier, the prisoners held a meeting where they discussed with their comrades outside of prison that "if in the end it came down to some of us having to be deported to make the entire deal successful, then we will liberate you from having to make that decision on our behalf".
"If the Israelis say that some of us can only go free if we are deported, we are ready to go to any Arab or Islamic country that is willing to accept."
In the moments leading up to Tuesday's exchange, the International Red Cross was responsible for consulting each of the prisoners to ensure their awareness of what the swap entailed.
"We were consulted individually by the Red Cross," said Asili. "Every single one of us that was deported was asked by the Red Cross whether or not they accepted the deportation.
"Each one of us was given the option to accept the deportation or not."
'Illogical and political complaint'
For Ezzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' politburo, the focus on deportation is an attempt by other political factions to throw cold water on the exchange.
"It's an illogical and political complaint," he told Al Jazeera. "None of the prisoners would have preferred to remain in jail for another 25 years. It was clear to us that deportation might have been an option."
He was keen to point out that the Israelis had insisted on deporting a much greater number which he put at "around 250 prisoners".
"We refused and insisted over the past two years until that number came down to 40," he said.
Referencing the deportation of 39 Palestinians following the Church of Nativity siege during the second Intifada, which was negotiated by the Palestinian Authority, Rishq said: "Many of those criticising this deal forget that in the past, almost every prisoner swap included deportations.
"We of course did not get every single term we wanted, but we came out with 90 per cent of what we were seeking.
"We couldn't get that last 10 per cent, we couldn't prevent the deportation of 40 prisoners, and we couldn't get some of the top leadership."
Those within the top leadership include Abbas al Sayyed, Abdallah Barghouti, Marwan Bargouti and Ahmad Saadat.
"Yes, we used to say deportation was a red line, and we still say that," Rishq said. "It is something we try to avoid at all costs. But at the end of the day, it was the least of two bad options."
Women in Israeli prisons
When the announcement was made earlier this month that 1,027 prisoners would be freed in exchange for Shalit, Hamas officials leading the negotiations were clear in their statements that "every woman in Israeli jails" would be set free.
Yet on Tuesday it was discovered that while 27 women were released, another eight still remain incarcerated in Israel's prisons.
"The written deal between us and the Israeli enemy, under the patronage of the Egyptians, included the following language: that all female prisoners held in Israeli jails would be set free," Rishq said.
"It did not specify a number, it said 'all'. This is what we signed, what the Egyptians signed, and what the Israelis signed."
However, when it came to implementing the deal "the Egyptians asked the Israelis to give us a list of all the female prisoners held in Israeli jails," Rishq explained.
The list presented to them contained the names of 27 women, and the presentation of the list occurred "in the very last moments of the deal".
"There wasn't enough time at that moment to double check all the names, but this was the list the Israelis gave us, and we announced it," he said.
After checking over the list, Hamas realised that eight women were not on the list, and these were women who were 'detained' rather than 'charged'.
"When that became clear to us, we told the Egyptians these women had to be included," Rishq said.
Negotiations reopened
As a result of the discrepancy, two days prior to the set release date, Hamas forced the negotiations to be reopened to insist the eight women be added to the list.
"Even [Tuesday], when the Israeli soldier was being handed over to the Egyptians ... just moments before he was handed over the deal could have fallen apart," Rishq saud.
Hnaini confirmed these events, adding that on Tuesday they were ready to go when everything was put on hold.
"We got on the buses, and they started moving, when suddenly the buses stopped moving," he said, forcing the prisoner exchange to be delayed by a few hours.
It was only after the Egyptians confirmed they would follow up on this matter and continue to press the Israelis, "and that refusing to free them would be considered a breach of the deal signed," that the exchange took place.