On the occasion of the festival Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice ) and  as a gesture of goodwill to the Head of the Palestinian Authority ,the Government of Israel decided on December 7 2008,  to release 230 Palestinian prisoners in accordance to the criteria set by previous  government decisions , that is to say  no release of those prisoners with "blood on their hands " belonging to Hamas or Palestinian Jihad .   
     



                                                                                                   

The government appointed a Ministerial Committee which approved the list of prisoners presented to it who were found suitable to the criteria fixed by a Coordinating Committee headed by the Director-General of the Ministry of Justice including representatives of all the relevant authorities connected with the matter (General Security Service, Israel Prison Service ,Israel Defence Force and Ministry of Justice ).