Gilad Shalit to be exchanged for 1027 Palestinian prisoners.

Two high-profile prisoners — Marwan Barghouti, the influential Fatah leader, and Ahmed Sa’adat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — will not be released as part of the swap deal.

…because Hamas doesn’t want Barghouti or Sa’adat freed?

This will likely alter the dynamic re Hamas in that it gives Israel less excuse to hassle Gaza. Maybe they’ll reopen the border – if Hamas cracks down on rocket attacks.

I can’t see why Israel should abandon the less-militant Fatah for the more radical Hamas, but since this deal gives Hamas a lot more ‘street cred’ vs Fatah I wonder if that wasn’t intentional. They certainly had to realize the boost it would give Hamas.