Israel frees 198 Palestinian prisoners
Before heading to Bitunia crossing, inmates sign commitment to never engage in terror activities again. In Ramallah, prisoners greeted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who says 'we're still waiting for Barghouti and Saadat'
They began dancing and waved the pictures of the prisoners, as well as those of Abbas and former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
"I promise we won't rest until we bring about the release of all the prisoners," Abbas said in a special rally held in honor of the freed Palestinians.
The prisoners entered the muqataa compound with great enthusiasm, in a production which resembled a Hizbullah celebration. The prisoners were brought into the compound by members of the presidential guard, who also accompanied them to the area where PA and PLO officials shook their hands.
The oldest prisoner freed, Sayed al-Ataba, said that "this is a victory over the prison, a victory over the handcuffs, a victory for freedom. This is the first victory." He thanked the people and Palestinian leadership for standing by the prisoners.
In his speech, Abbas mentioned the rest of the prisoners. "Despite the great happiness, we know that there is also sadness over those who were left behind, 11,000 who have yet to be released."
Raising the senior prisoners' hands, the Palestinian president added, "They all have a place in our heart, but there is a special one, senior brother Marwan Barghouti and the leading brother Ahmad Saadat, whom we hope to see soon."
Barghouti is the former Fatah secretary-general in the West Bank, who received five life sentences. Saadat is the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was also involved in the murder of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
'Thanks for letting me see freedom'
Mahmoud Yehie, one of the released prisoners, thanked Abbas in a conversation with Ynet. "I thank the 'rais' for letting me see the freedom and I ask him to continue to work for the release of the rest of the prisoners," said Yehie, who was imprisoned for five and a half years and was freed eight years before the scheduled date.
"I thank Allah and the rais and hope to see the rest of our brothers released, because the prisoners' situation inside the prison is very difficult," said Yehie, adding that he was going to rest and celebrate modestly "because of those left behind. The happiness will not be complete as long as they're in prison."
Prisoners with release forms (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Earlier, the 198 prisoners were freed from the Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Before getting on the buses which would take them to the Bitunia crossing, north of Jerusalem, the former inmates signed a commitment to never engage in terror activities again.
The outstanding pictures waved by the family members were those of the oldest prisoner, Sayed al-Ataba, who has been jailed since 1977, and of Abu-Ali Yata, a Fatah parliament member who was imprisoned in 1980.
"The family and masses who are here are very happy," Yata's cousin, Othman Abu-Ali, told Ynet.
Othman, who had visited his jailed cousin twice over the past 28 years, spoke of a "divine miracle" which led to his relative's release.
"We are preparing a great celebration for him, both in the village of Yata and in the entire Hebron district. The celebration will begin in Halhul until we reach Yata, where we are are preparing a big hall to welcome the thousands who will arrive to greet him. We only hope to see all the prisoners released," he said.
Muhammas Hussein was waiting for his nephew Fayez, who has been jailed for five years. "It's hard to say we are happy," he said. "It's true we are satisfied with Fayez's release, but it's hard to say that this move is even a drop in the sea, because it's much less.
"What are 200 prisoners out of more than 10,000? I don't know how they can talk about a gesture? What gesture? Where is the gesture?"
Waiting for prisoners in Bitunia
Fadwa Barghouti, the wife of the former Fatah leader, told Ynet, "This is a day of happiness, particularly when the most veteran prisoner in the world is released. We hope the negotiations will lead to a solution for all the prisoners, so that we can celebrate their release in the independent Palestinian state.
"If the criteria allow the release of the two veteran prisoners, they should have also released the other 11 prisoners who have been jailed for more than 25 years."
At the end of the Ramallah ceremony, the prisoners will join their families in Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The prisoners were transferred from jails across Israel to the Ofer Prison near Ramallah. The cabinet originally approved the release of 199 prisoners, but an examination of the prisoners' list revealed that one of them was facing criminal charges and he was thus removed from the list.
In the past few days, the prisoners underwent medical tests and final identification, and met with the prison directors and Red Cross representatives.
Celebrations are also expected to be held in Hebron, in honor of released prisoner Abu Ali Yata, and in Nablus, in honor of Sayed al-Ataba and senior Fatah member Hussam Khader who served as a Palestinian parliament member at the time of his arrest in 2003.
Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report
