Israel releases 26 Palestinian prisoners

Jubilant celebrations kicked off in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where the prisoners are seen as heroes who fought for independence, and they were received warmly by their families and Palestinian leaders.

But the decision to release the 26 has triggered anguish and anger in Israel, where many see them as terrorists.

The release was part of an agreement brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry that brought Israel and the Palestinians back to the table for peace talks that had been paralysed since 2008. In all, 104 prisoners are to be released in four batches over the coming months.

In the West Bank and Gaza, the mood was boisterous as hundreds of relatives and well-wishers welcomed the prisoners home, after many had spent more than 20 years behind bars.

Throngs of people rushed toward the prisoners as they were freed, hoisting them on their shoulders, waving Palestinian flags and dancing to music. In Gaza, where five of the prisoners were released, relatives held signs that read: “We will never forget our heroes.”

The 21 prisoners released to the West Bank were to be greeted at a welcoming ceremony later by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Around 50 Israelis protested outside the West Bank prison where the inmates were held ahead of the release, and around 1,000 people demonstrated against the release on Monday. They held signs reading “death to murderers” and burned keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian headscarves.

‘Day of joy’

Tayser Shubair, who was waiting earlier for his brother’s release in Gaza, said: “Today is a day of joy for the family and for all of Palestine.”

His brother Hazem was jailed in 1994 for the death of an Israeli, according to the Israeli Prison Service. “My brother is a freedom fighter and we are proud of him and we thank the president for his effort to get him out.”

Thousands of Palestinians have been held in Israeli prisons since Israel’s capture of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, many jailed on charges ranging from throwing rocks to killing civilians in bombings, shootings and other attacks.

The fate of the prisoners is a deeply emotional issue in Palestinian society. After decades of fighting Israel, many families have had a member imprisoned and the release of prisoners has been a longstanding demand.