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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Hamas parliament Speaker released | Hamas parliament Speaker released |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Israel has released Hamas parliamentary Speaker Aziz Dweik at the end of a three-year prison sentence. | Israel has released Hamas parliamentary Speaker Aziz Dweik at the end of a three-year prison sentence. |
| Mr Dweik and other Hamas politicians were detained in the West Bank in 2006. He was charged with belonging to an illegal organisation. | Mr Dweik and other Hamas politicians were detained in the West Bank in 2006. He was charged with belonging to an illegal organisation. |
| His detention followed Hamas's capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid. | |
| Hundreds of Israelis are protesting at check-points to the Gaza strip, calling for Sgt Shalit's release. | |
| Demonstrators blockaded two crossings at Karni and Kerem Shalom on Tuesday morning, but attempts to halt lorries carrying supplies into the Gaza strip were stopped by Israeli police. | Demonstrators blockaded two crossings at Karni and Kerem Shalom on Tuesday morning, but attempts to halt lorries carrying supplies into the Gaza strip were stopped by Israeli police. |
| The protesters are calling for the release of Sgt Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants, including some from Hamas's armed wing. | |
| Two other soldiers and two militants were killed in the raid. | |
| Mr Dweik - Abu Hashem to his followers - became the Speaker of the Palestinian parliament in January 2006. He was arrested at his house in Ramallah in August 2006, two months after Israeli troops also arrested 20 Hamas MPs in response to the capture of Sgt Shalit. | |
| According to Mr Dweik's lawyer, he "was freed from the Hadarim prison [near Tel Aviv] and he is on his way toward the Shaer Ephraim check-point". | According to Mr Dweik's lawyer, he "was freed from the Hadarim prison [near Tel Aviv] and he is on his way toward the Shaer Ephraim check-point". |
| His release comes after a military tribunal near the West Bank city of Ramallah rejected an application by prosecutors to keep Mr Dweik behind bars when his sentence ran out. | His release comes after a military tribunal near the West Bank city of Ramallah rejected an application by prosecutors to keep Mr Dweik behind bars when his sentence ran out. |
| The BBC's Middle East correspondent Paul Wood said the Israeli military had presumably wanted to keep Mr Dweik in jail because holding such a senior Hamas politician would have been useful in the ongoing negotiations for the release of Sgt Shalit. | |
| But Mr Dweik had been in bad health and has now been freed two months before the end of his existing sentence. | |
| Earlier, his wife told a Palestinian news agency that she was surprised by the decision to release him but hoped other Palestinian prisoners would also now be freed. | |
| Unacceptable demands | Unacceptable demands |
| Egypt has been brokering indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians. | Egypt has been brokering indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians. |
| Talks broke down in March 2009 when out-going Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Hamas had made additional demands that were unacceptable. | Talks broke down in March 2009 when out-going Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Hamas had made additional demands that were unacceptable. |
| Hamas had demanded the release of more than 400 of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. | Hamas had demanded the release of more than 400 of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. |
| Among them are senior militants who have been involved in deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. | Among them are senior militants who have been involved in deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. |
| The Israeli blockade of Gaza's Palestinian population was tightened following the abduction of Cpl Shalit. | The Israeli blockade of Gaza's Palestinian population was tightened following the abduction of Cpl Shalit. |