RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinians are planning a hero's welcome for a militant mastermind whom Israel is freeing as a way to prop up the moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, officials said Wednesday.
In Gaza, meanwhile, a spokesman for the Hamas militant group threatened to harm a captured Israeli soldier if his group doesn't receive a similar gesture from Israel.
A shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas faced a new test Wednesday after Gaza militants fired a rocket into southern Israel and Israel responded by shutting down Gaza's borders.
Said Atba is among 199 Palestinian prisoners being freed by Israel in a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas meant to bolster the moderate Palestinian leader and breathe new life into the flagging peace process.
Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Minister Ashraf Ajrami says Israel has told him the release will likely take place next week. Earlier, Ajrami had said he expected it to be on Friday.
Atba has spent 32 years in prison for commanding a militant cell that killed one woman and wounded dozens others in a market bombing in Israel. Popular among Palestinians, he has become a symbol of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Ajrami said there will be a rally for Atba and the other freed prisoners in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Atba will then receive another hero's welcome in his hometown of Nablus.
The governor of Nablus has planned a huge homecoming party. He plans to greet Ajrami at a checkpoint outside Nablus, escort him to the city and hold a party "like a wedding" at city hall.
The Israeli Cabinet approved the prisoner release this week, in part to boost Abbas in his rivalry with the Hamas militant group. Hamas wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas' forces in June 2007.
Israel says the release sends a message that diplomacy, not violence, is the way to win concessions. Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including convicted murderers, in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier it has held in Gaza for two years.
Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist group, has balked at Hamas' demands and Egyptian-mediated peace talks appear to have stalled.
Late Tuesday, Abu Obeida, a leader of Hamas' military wing, threatened to harm the Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, if Israel does not meet his group's demands. He said Schalit would meet the same fate as Ron Arad, a missing Israeli airman who disappeared shortly after his plane crashed in Lebanon in 1986.
"If the stubborness continues, then the enemy should consider Gilad Schalit as Ron Arad No. 2," he said.
Israel and Hamas have been observing a cease-fire since June. On Wednesday, Israel closed its cargo crossings with Gaza after a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel that violated the truce.
The rocket exploded in an open field late Tuesday, causing no injuries or damage, and there was no claim of responsibility.
Gaza militants have sporadically violated the deal by firing rockets and mortars into Israel. Prior to the agreement militants would shell southern Israel almost daily.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007. As part of the truce, Israel has promised to gradually reopen the borders, though the Palestinians say there has been little change.
Gaza depends almost entirely on the Israeli-controlled crossings for basic goods to enter the territory.
Israel's Defense Ministry said the crossings would stay closed for at least 24 hours. - AP