Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel arrive in Ramallah
RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM - Two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in Ramallah, the West Bank, on Thursday, according to Palestinian sources.
According to eyewitnesses, large crowds gathered to welcome them, chanting slogans and waving flags in celebration.
The families of the released detainees waited anxiously outside the reception area, with many breaking into tears when finally reuniting with their loved ones.
"This is a moment of both joy and pain," said Samah Abed, a relative of a prisoner, expressing relief at the release but frustration over the continued conflict between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli security official, speaking with Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said Israel completed the release of 110 Palestinian detainees earlier in the day as part of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange agreement with Hamas that took effect on Jan. 19.
Buses transported about 66 Palestinian detainees from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank to Ramallah and 15 others to a detention center in East Jerusalem, from where they were released. A total of 29 prisoners convicted of involvement in attacks against Israelis are to be deported to Egypt and other countries, said the official.
A photo circulating on social media showed Zakaria Zubeidi, a high-profile prisoner and former commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin, West Bank, making a V-sign on a bus. Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that before his release, Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency warned him that he would be "eliminated" if he resumed militant activities.
The release was delayed by about three hours on the instruction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was angered by "chaotic" scenes during Hamas' earlier release of several of eight Israeli hostages in Gaza.
A further exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is expected on Saturday, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing.
