200 Palestinian prisoners released spark jubilant scenes in the West Bank
A total of 200 Palestinian prisoners have been released in the West Bank after Israel freed them in exchange for four female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
More than half of the 200 released were serving life sentences in Israeli prisons – some having been convicted of multiple murders, including the killing of Israeli civilians. The others were never charged with a crime.
About 70 of the most serious criminals were deported through Egypt to neighboring countries, including Egypt and Türkiye.
A small number will be sent to Gaza. The rest – just over 120 – will be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“Following the conclusion of the necessary activities in the prisons and the approval of the political authorities, all terrorists were released from OFER and KTZIOT prisons,” the Israel Prison Service said in a statement.
Some of the released prisoners were booed by the crowd to loud cheers and fireworks after being taken out of the buses.
There was then a scuffle as they tried to find their loved ones and family members, before being taken to a sports complex where celebrations continued.
“Thank God! It feels great, I can’t describe this feeling! I’ve been in prison for six years and two months,” said prisoner Bakar Quavish as he boarded one of the tired gray prisoner buses. After closing.
The youngest Palestinian prisoner released on Saturday was 16 years old. The oldest, Mohammed al-Tous, was 69 years old. He spent 39 years in prison, having first been arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces.
Another prisoner, Mohammed al-Darrah, was part of a high profile jailbreak in 2021.
A total of 121 prisoners who were released had served life sentences.
Some prisoners were held for short periods of time, and some were never charged with a crime but were held under something called administrative detention.
Saturday’s swap was the second exchange since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19. Three hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in the first swap.
During last week’s prisoner release, there was a noticeable show of support for Hamas, but on Saturday, the West Bank’s ruling party, which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), came to demonstrate its support for the prisoners. Came out in force.
Earlier on Saturday, On 7 October 2023, four female Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hamas were released from Gaza.
Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albagh, all aged between 19 and 20, were released to the Red Cross in Gaza City during a heavily choreographed handover to dozens of Hamas gunmen. Were included.
However, Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire because female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud was not included in Saturday’s release.
Israel said it would delay the planned return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Hamas insisted the hostages would be released next weekend.
The January ceasefire deal halted the war, when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 47,200 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
