Palestinian prisoners arrive in West Bank

Israel released 227 Palestinian prisoners on Monday, as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in honor of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Festival of

Sacrifice.

The majority of the prisoners arrived in the West Bank, where they were received with grand festivities. Eighteen of the prisoners were transferred to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas disallowed any celebrations, since none of its operatives were among the prisoners released. 

Hundreds of family members and friend greeted the men, as they crossed the Bitunia checkpoint into the West Bank. Palestinian flags were hoisted alongside Fatah flags, and many met the prisoners with cheers, music and dancing.

Nevertheless, Ziad Abu Ayn, director of prisoner affairs in the Palestinian Authority, told Ynet that Israel tried to hinder the families' joy by nearly postponing the release.

"The Palestinian people are used to these games and despite Israel's attempts to take the joy out of the release, the Palestinians will celebrate today, celebrate the release of hundreds of prisoners. We hope this will be the beginning of a wave of such releases, which will eventually ends this matter altogether," he said.

Arriving in the West Bank (Photo: Reuters)

Earlier Monday, the High Court revoked the temporary injunction issued against the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners following a petition by the legal center for terror research and the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein ordered the State on Sunday to reply to the petition by 7:45 am on Monday.

The petition challenged Israel's pledge to release the prisoners, claiming the process as a whole was flawed. The petitioners also asked the court for a temporary injunction to stop Monday's release.

In its response the State claimed that the petition should be rejected because it was filed at such a late stage in the release process. It also reminded the court that a similar petition against the prisoner release had already been rejected and stated that the High Court did not customarily intervene with the government's decisions.

According to the State Prosecutor's Office, refraining from releasing the prisoners as planned could affect Israel's relations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians.

"The objective of the release is to constitute a gesture for the Festival of Sacrifice. Any deferral could therefore undermine this goal," the State concluded.

Ali Waked and Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report