198 Palestinian prisoners freed as Rice heads to Middle East
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
RAMALLAH, Aug 25 (AFP): Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners Monday in a gesture to president Mahmud Abbas as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due in the region to spur US-backed peace talks.
Many of the detainees fell to their knees and kissed the soil as they were released outside the Israeli military detention centre at Ofer in the occupied West Bank.
Crowds cheered and chanted Palestinian patriotic songs as the detainees were driven to the territory's political capital Ramallah for a lavish welcome at Abbas's headquarters.
The release took place just hours before Rice's scheduled arrival on her 18th visit in two years aimed at encouraging peace talks formally relaunched at a conference hosted by US President George W. Bush in November.
"This is a day of joy for the fighters of freedom and independence," said Said al-Attaba, 56, the longest serving Palestinian prisoner who had been serving a life sentence since 1977 for killing an Israeli woman.
"It is like a wedding celebration for the Palestinian people, but our joy will not be complete until all Palestinian prisoners are released," he told AFP by telephone, referring to the some 11,000 Palestinians still jailed in Israel.
Those released also included Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Ali, known as "Abu Ali Yatta," who was jailed in 1979 for killing an Israeli student. A member of Abbas's Fatah party, he was elected to parliament in 2006 while behind bars.
Many of the detainees fell to their knees and kissed the soil as they were released outside the Israeli military detention centre at Ofer in the occupied West Bank.
Crowds cheered and chanted Palestinian patriotic songs as the detainees were driven to the territory's political capital Ramallah for a lavish welcome at Abbas's headquarters.
The release took place just hours before Rice's scheduled arrival on her 18th visit in two years aimed at encouraging peace talks formally relaunched at a conference hosted by US President George W. Bush in November.
"This is a day of joy for the fighters of freedom and independence," said Said al-Attaba, 56, the longest serving Palestinian prisoner who had been serving a life sentence since 1977 for killing an Israeli woman.
"It is like a wedding celebration for the Palestinian people, but our joy will not be complete until all Palestinian prisoners are released," he told AFP by telephone, referring to the some 11,000 Palestinians still jailed in Israel.
Those released also included Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Ali, known as "Abu Ali Yatta," who was jailed in 1979 for killing an Israeli student. A member of Abbas's Fatah party, he was elected to parliament in 2006 while behind bars.