the West Bank and Gaza Monday, February 21, as part of an effort to bolster a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian Authority and to revive the Middle East peace process, officials confirmed.
"In light of the ongoing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, and as part of ongoing discussions with Palestinian Authority security officials, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in conjunction with the Israeli Prison Service [will release] 500 security prisoners and administrative detainees" the IDF said.
"The security prisoners and administrative detainees…released are being transferred from Ktziot detention facility to a number of specified drop-off points in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," the IDF added.
While still being in handcuffs, prisoners managed to make victory signs with their fingers while cheering when placed on buses which ferried them to various checkpoints, reporters observed.
However some detainees said they had mixed feelings about their release. "We are very happy, but at the same time worried and sad," Nasir Abu Aziz, a released member of the Palestinian National Council told Aljazeera.net, the Internet website of the Arabic Aljazeera broadcasting network. "We are happy to be released, but sad for our brothers inside the Israeli jails," the former prisoner was quoted as saying. Israel has been holding some 8,000 Palestinian detainees, according to estimates.
About half the prisoners freed Monday, February 21, were from the militant Fatah movement, Aljazeera reported. Others were reportedly from what Aljazeera called "Islamic resistance groups" that were still weighing whether to formally agree to a ceasefire. At least one Fatah official seemed reluctant to remain peaceful.
PALESTINIAN EMOTIONS
"The Israelis are trying to use the Palestinian emotions towards the detainees and apply the [truce] agreement according to their own standards, thus violating it," Ata Abu Rumaila, Secretary General of the Fatah movement in Jenin told Aljazeera.
"The Israelis are trying to use the Palestinian emotions towards the detainees and apply the [truce] agreement according to their own standards, thus violating it," he told the network.
Their release, which began under cover of darkness, came just a day after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s cabinet agreed on a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and areas of the West Bank. The government decision came despite protests from the settlers and even some Christian groups who see the move as giving up "Biblical lands."
NOT "EASY DAY"
"It will not be an easy day, nor will it be a happy day," Sharon confirmed in a statement received by BosNewsLife. "The evacuation of communities from Gaza and northern Samaria is a very difficult step." In addition the cabinet also approved a revised route for the separation barrier being built in the West Bank to be less inclusive of land claimed by the Palestinians than a previous route.
Sharon stressed the measures were "difficult for the residents, for the citizens of Israel, and for me" and he was "certain that it is difficult for the members of the cabinet." But he said "this is a vital step for the future of the State of Israel." Analysts point out that Sunday’s 17 to 5 vote was the first time Israel agreed on the removal of settlements from territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war, which the Palestinians want for a future state.
In a message to BosNewsLife, the IDF also said it had ended its controversial policy of destroying "terrorist houses" in Palestinian areas, but warned it could "reexamine" the tactic "in the event of an extreme change in circumstances." Human rights groups had criticized Israel, saying homes of innocent Palestinian civilians were destroyed as well.
16 "TERRORISTS" RELEASED
Besides, the IDF said it transported 16 Palestinians "involved in terrorist activity" back to their homes inside the West Bank Sunday, February, 21. The army also increased the number of Palestinian workers allowed to enter Israel via the tense Erez border "to a maximum of 1600 and the total number of Palestinian merchants authorized to a maximum of 800."
Speaking to reporters, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised the new policy and promised that the Palestinian Authority would ensure that the Israeli withdrawal take place without any violence from the Palestinians. He said "Palestinians would throw flowers on the departing Israelis – not stones."
Sharon had warned that Israel would "not leave under fire." The government has reportedly given the estimated 8,000 Jewish settlers in the area till July 20 to leave 25 settlements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
(With: BosNewsLife News Center and reports from Israel and Palestinian Authority).
