Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader jailed in Israel, announced on Sunday that he will be freed in the coming prisoners' swap between the Palestinians and Israel.
The Arabic language Israel Radio reported that Barghouti said this to Nadi Helou, an Israeli-Arab Knesset (parliament) member of the Labor Party, while the latter visited him in his cell in the Hadarim prison in Israel.
"Barghouti told me that his name is in a list of 350 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released as soon as a prisoners' swap is finalized between Israel and Palestinian militant groups," Helou was quoted as saying.
The female lawmaker also told the radio that she asked Barghouti to work on ensuring the success of the international peace conference to be held in the United States next month.
Barghouti is a member in the Palestinian parliament and was given a life sentence in 2002.
The armed wings of Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees ( PRS)and the Army of Islam captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid on an Israeli army base southeast Gaza Strip on June 25, 2006, and since then has held him as hostage.
The three groups, led by Hamas, called on Israel through a third-party mediator to free 1,450 Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, if they want to see Shalit's back.
The two sides had have frequent contacts over the prisoners swap deal but failed to work out a final version.
Source: Xinhua
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