200 Palestinian Prisoners Released Amid Jubilation in West Bank

200 Palestinian Prisoners Released Amid Jubilation in West Bank

Around 200 Palestinian prisoners were released to celebrations in the West Bank after Israel freed the prisoners as hostages in exchange for the release of four women being held by Hamas within Gaza.

Over half of those released were serving life sentences in Israeli prisons. Some were found guilty of multiple murders, which included the murder in the killing of Israeli civilians.

About 70 of the most serious offenders are deported through Egypt to countries that border it, including Qatar as well as Turkey.

A smaller portion will be transferred to Gaza, while the remainder will return to their homes in West Bank. West Bank.

“After the conclusion of the necessary activities in the prisons and the approval of political authorities, all the terrorists were released from the Ofer and Ktziot prisons,” the Israel Prison Service said in an announcement.

A few released prisoners were carried up in the air by crowds of people to cheers and fireworks when they left the buses.

Then there was a flurry of people trying to locate their family members and loved ones, and they were then carried to an area for sports where celebrations continued.

The most minor Palestinian inmate released this weekend was just 16 years old, and the eldest was 69 years old. One prisoner spent more than 39 years locked up in an Israeli prison after first having been arrested in the year 1986.

A total of 121 prisoners released were being sentenced to life.

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Certain prisoners were detained for short durations, and others were not accused of a crime. However, they were kept under what is known as administrative detention.

This was only the second swap since the ceasefire took effect on the 19th of January. Three hostages, as well as 90 Palestinian prisoners, were released during the first exchange.

In last week’s prisoner release and the prisoner release last week, there was a clear display in support of Hamas; however, the next day, Fatah, which is West Bank’s main party that controls the Palestinian Authority (PA), showed up in full force to show their support of the detained.

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On the Saturday before, four female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas on the 7th of October, 2023, were freed by Hamas Gaza.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, who were all from 19 to 20 years old, were handed over by the Red Cross in Gaza City in a highly choreographed handover that involved dozens of Hamas gunmen.

However, Israel accused Hamas of breaking the terms of the ceasefire, as the female hostage, Arbel Yehud, was not mentioned in the release on Saturday.

Israel announced that it would defer the scheduled return of Palestinians who have been displaced Palestinians back to the northern part of Gaza, and Hamas has insisted that the hostage would be released by the weekend.

The ceasefire in January stopped the conflict that began when Hamas struck Israel on the 7th of October, 2023. More than 1,200 people were killed, and 251 were taken home to Gaza to be held hostages.

Nearly 47,200 Palestinians, who are mostly civilians, were killed during Israel’s military offensive, Gaza’s Hamas health ministry has announced.