Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 18 / Trend T.Konyayeva/
Israel may face the risk of destabilization after the release of Palestinian prisoners, including those sentenced to life imprisonment, for exchange of Gilad Shalit's release, but this was the cost which Israel had to pay, Professor Shmuel Sandler at Bar-Ilan University believes.
"I think that this sacrifice will be deterrent," Sandler told Trend by phone. "But this is the cost which we ought to pay to get back our soldiers."
Israeli Army Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was in captive by Hamas since 2006, has been handed over to the Israeli side on Tuesday, Israeli Army Radio reported.
Shalit, 19, was captured by HAMAS on June 25, 2006. In exchange to Shalit's release HAMAS demanded from Israel to release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, including its leaders, sentenced to long terms, as well as women and children.
On October 11 HAMAS and Israeli authorities reached an agreement to release Shalit in exchange to the release of 1,027 Palestinians, including 27 women.
The prisoners are to be released in two stages. The first group of 470 prisoners (315 of them are serving life sentences) left the prison soon after Shalit is transferred to Israelis, while the rest will be released in two months.
In particular, Israel will deport 40 Palestinians outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip while 163 West Bank's natives will be transported to Gaza.
The first convoy of Palestinian prisoners could be seen Tuesday morning leaving Israel's Ofer military base outside the West Bank city of Ramallah and waiting outside the Beitunia military checkpoint for an order to cross into Palestinian-controlled territory, dpa reported.