LEAD: Israeli to release 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday

Dec 15, 2011, 9:32 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israel will free 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, in the second phase of an exchange deal with Hamas in Gaza, an Israel Prison Service (IPS) spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

The prisoners were being transferred to two facilities, near Tel Aviv and Ramallah, before being handed over to Palestinian officials on Sunday, spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told dpa.

They underwent medical checks and a formal identification procedure early Thursday, after which the IPS began transporting them to the Ayalon facility near Tel Aviv and the Ofer military base near Ramallah. The last would arrive by Thursday evening, Weizman said.

Their crossover into Palestinian-controlled territory is expected to take place in the evening hours Sunday, the spokeswoman added.

The first phase of the high-profile exchange was on October 18, when Israel freed 477 Palestinian militants, many of them extreme, in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza for more than five years.

The IPS published the list of second-phase prisoners late Wednesday.

They appear less hardcore than those freed in the first phase, with most serving several years. Militants released in the first phase included scores serving multiple life sentences for being involved in some of the worst suicide bombings in Israel.

Most of the 550 are to be released to the West Bank, while about 40 will go to Gaza, two to East Jerusalem and two others to Jordan.