VIDEO. RAMALLAH – "Our joy will be complete only when all 11,000 Palestinian imprisoned in Israel will be released," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners crossed over to the West Bank.
Monday saw Israel release227 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority, in honor of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice.
The majority of the prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 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.
Abbas greeted the prisoners personally, embracing each and every one, saying – in what was an unusually short speech – that "we will see many more of our prisoners released."
Abbas went on to say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not be resolved "until all the conquered land and its capital of Jerusalem" will be freed, and pledged to keep the matter of the Palestinian refugees his top priority.
Sardonically hinting at Hamas' decision not to celebrate the release of the prisoners transferred to Gaza, Abbas added that he hoped the men sent to Gaza "will not find themselves in a different prison."