Israel frees 5 Palestinians as part of Hizbullah swap deal

Final stage of prisoner exchange with Lebanese Shiite group completed; Israel says none of released men involved in deadly attacks

Reuters
Published: 08.06.08, 12:23 / Israel News

Israel released five Palestinian teenagers from jail Wednesday as part of a prisoner exchange agreement made with Lebanon's Hizbullah militia last month.

Tragic Ending

Kidnapped troops return in coffins from Lebanon / Ynet reporters

(VIDEO) Abduction affair which ignited Second Lebanon War comes to its tragic end as bodies of Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser transferred to Israel, undergo final identification. Earlier, Samir Kuntar, four other Lebanese prisoners leave Israeli prison, arrive at IDF base in northern Israel before being returned to Lebanon

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The five were driven from a prison in central Israel to the West Bank town of Tulkarem, where one of them, 15-year-old Zakariya Shurbaji, told reporters they were only informed of their impending release a day earlier. They were never told that it was part of the deal with Hizbullah, Shurbaji said.

The emotional July swap between Israel and Hizbullah brought back to Israel the bodies of two slain soldiers in return for five live Lebanese prisoners. One was reviled in Israel as the perpetrator of a 1979 attack in which four Israelis were killed, including a civilian and his two young daughters.

Freed prisoner greeted by his family (Photo: Reuters)

As part of the deal, Israel agreed to release some Palestinian prisoners, but sought to minimize the concession by selecting some of the most insignificant offenders. All five freed Wednesday were minors serving short sentences for throwing stones and other objects and were due to be freed next year, according to data posted on the Prisons Authority Web site.

By insisting on the release of a token number of Palestinians, Hizbullah sought to bolster its standing beyond its core following of Shiite Muslims to the broader Arab world.

Four of the youngsters freed Wednesday said they were supporters of the secular Palestinian nationalist Fatah movement and the fifth said he was involved in the radical leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Shurbaji said they were all grateful to Hizbullah's leader.

"I say thank you to Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah for all the efforts he made on our behalf," he said.

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