Israeli-Palestinian prisoner exchange a ‘humanitarian breakthrough\'

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon termed the Tuesday’s exchange of prisoners by Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas a “significant humanitarian breakthrough”. Israeli-Palestinian prisoner exchange a ‘humanitarian breakthrough\' According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here on Wednesday, the UN chief hoped the move would have a far-reaching and positive impact on the Middle East peace process. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Ban noted that he had long called for the end of captivity of Israeli soldier and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas on Tuesday released Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive since June 2006, in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners by Israel. The first 477 of those prisoners were released on Tuesday. Responding to a reporter’s question in Geneva, Ban said he was very encouraged by the actions and hoped that the two parties will return to negotiations so they can realize the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. In the statement Ban thanked Egypt and Germany for their contributions to the process that led to the prisoner exchange. “In the aftermath, the secretary-general hopes that more far-reaching steps will be taken to end the closure of Gaza and enable reconstruction. He continues to call in the same context for an end to the smuggling of weapons and a sustained calm between Israel and Gaza.”