Israel releases 200 Palestinians
The prisoners received a hero’s welcome upon their return to the West Bank, where thousands joined celebrations at the Ramallah headquarters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and elsewhere across the West Bank.
“We will not rest until the prisoners are freed and the jails are empty,” Abbas told the cheering crowd.
The prisoners arrived in Ramallah after being released at an Israeli military checkpoint near Jerusalem.
Among the 198 Palestinians freed was Said al-Atba, who served 31 years of a life sentence for masterminding a 1977 market bombing that killed one woman and wounded dozens others near Tel Aviv.
Al-Atba, 57, was the longest serving Palestinian inmate in Israel and is widely seen by as a symbol of all the prisoners.
“I feel like I’ve been born again,” al-Atba said later, but noted that thousands of prisoners remain behind. “We salute them and we must do all that we can to liberate them.”
Israel said the release was a gesture meant to bolster Abbas and his Western-leaning administration and give a boost to the slow-moving peace talks with the moderate Palestinian leader.
“It’s not easy for Israel to release prisoners. Some of those being released today are guilty of direct involvement in the murder of innocent civilians,” an Israeli government spokesman said. “We believe this action can support the negotiation process and create goodwill.”
The fate of the roughly 9,000 prisoners in Israeli jails is emotional for Palestinians, many who know somebody behind bars or who have served themselves. Abbas, who is struggling to show his people the fruits of the peace talks, has repeatedly urged Israel to carry out a large-scale release.
Upon her arrival in Tel Aviv, Rice praised the Israeli gesture calling on both sides to carry out more confidence-building measures. Rice has been trying to broker a peace agreement by the end of the year.
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