Israel releases 90 women and teens, fires at celebrating crowds
Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The release came early Monday, more than seven hours after three Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza returned to Israel.
A large bus carrying dozens of Palestinian detainees exited the gates of Israel’s Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel’s military, which occupies the West Bank, warned Palestinians against public celebration, but crowds thronged the buses after they left the prison, some people climbing on top or waving flags, including those of Hamas.
There were fireworks and whistles, and shouts of “God is great.” Those released were hoisted onto others’ shoulders or embraced.
According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, all of those released are women or teens, the youngest 15. Israel detained them for what it said were offenses related to Israel’s security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.
- Fleeting moment of joy -
Bara’a Al-Fuqha, 22, hugged her family as she stepped off the white Red Cross bus and into the sea of cheering Palestinians welcoming the 90 Palestinians freed by Israel early Monday.
A medical student at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem before her arrest, she had spent around six months in Damon Prison. She said she was held under administrative detention — a policy of indefinite imprisonment without formal charge or trial that Israel almost exclusively uses against Palestinians. Israel says that the cases of Palestinians released as part of the exchange with Hamas for Israeli hostages all relate to state security charges.
Al-Fuqha said her conditions in Israeli prison were “terrible,” her access to food and water limited.
“It was like, when we tried to hold our heads high, the guards would do their best to hold us down,” she said.
But now, reunited with her family, al-Fuqha displayed a sense of relief and defiance.
“Thank God, I am here with my family, I’m satisfied,” she said. “But my joy is limited, because so many among us Palestinians are being tortured and abused. Our people in Gaza are suffering. God willing, we will work to free them, too.”
That reflected a wider feeling in the crowd, with many saying this release offered a small, if fleeting, moment of joy, tempered by the 15 months of death and destruction in Gaza.
- Conflict over names -
Hamas’ office of prisoner affairs has issued a statement saying the delay in Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners was the result of a last-minute conflict over the names on the list.
Seven hours after three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian crowds gathered outside Israel’s Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah were still waiting for the release of 90 Palestinians.
The Hamas statement said: “During the process of checking the names of the prisoners being released from Ofer prison, there was found to be one female prisoner missing.”
Hamas said that its officials were in communication with mediators and the Red Cross in hopes of pressuring Israel “to adhere to the agreed-upon list of prisoners.” It said that the issue was being resolved and it expected the buses of the released prisoners to soon depart.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the delay.
- Israel fires at crowds awaiting prisoners' release -
The Israeli military has been firing projectiles and moving journalists waiting to cover the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire that began Sunday. That’s according to AP video, which showed smoke trailing from objects landing nearby.
The release of the 90 prisoners will take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel’s military has warned Palestinians against public celebration.
Source: Associated Press
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