Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted early Wednesday morning to approve a prisoner swap that will see Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who has been in Hamas captivity for the last five years, return to Israel.

Twenty-six ministers voted in favor of the deal, and three ministers - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon of Likud - voted against the proposal.

According to the agreement framework presented by Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, the deal Netanyahu brought before the cabinet included, at first, the release of 450 Palestinian prisoners, including 280 with life sentences.

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The second wave of releases will take place in two months time, at which point Israel will release 550 prisoners of its choosing.