Palestinians leave Ketziot prison in the South to their release. (AP)
Posted on 08/06/2003 3:26:31 AM PDT by yonif
Buses carrying 339 Palestinian detainees are making their way from prisons to five checkpoints where the men will be handed over to the Palestinian Authority later today.
The first bus of 16 left Ketziot prison, south of Beersheba, at 7 a.m. Other buses have left the Megiddo prison in the North. The release is set for 2:30 p.m. at various checkpoints. A military source said no changes have been made regarding either the schedule or the number of prisoners to be set free today.
"The release is going smoothly," the source said.
The convoys, under heavy police guard to prevent disruptions, are to deliver the prisoners to five crossing points, four in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip. An additional 99 prisoners will be released at a later date, senior security sources said. They include 50 who were sentenced for criminal activity and 49 who were detained for being in Israel without a permit.
Security sources said the 339 Palestinians to be released include 182 security prisoners currently serving their terms and 157 administrative detainees. The list includes one woman. Security officials insisted none were involved in lethal attacks on Israelis.
"This release represents a powerful and realistic gesture of Israel's intention to follow the road map and secure a lasting peace with the Palestinians," the source said. "We have every intention to make sure that both the Palestinian people and the world public see that Israel is upholding its part of the peace process."
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas canceled a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon planned for Wednesday to protest the list of prisoners to be released.
Bassam Abu Sharif, an adviser to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, called the planned release a "joke," which he said proves "Sharon is not serious about implementing the road map."
Former PA cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said Israel had ignored the PA s demand that prisoners who were arrested before the signing of the Oslo Accords get priority.
Abu Sharif said serious American mediation efforts are under way to reinstate the Abbas-Sharon meeting. He did not rule out the two would meet before Abbas leaves for Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf on Thursday.
An aide to Abbas also said the meeting would eventually take place, but it would be delayed until Abbas returns from the Gulf.
The IDF has put military prisons on high alert to thwart any attempted riots.
Each prisoner will be obligated to sign a form promising not to be involved in any further terrorist activity against Israel.
Anyone who refuses to sign it will be returned to prison, said a senior IDF officer.
The senior officer said the army is treating the release as a military operation and has taken a number of precautions to deal with all possible scenarios. Each convoy will be escorted by police vehicles and will include ambulances. A central command center will coordinate the entire process.
Possible scenarios include attempts by Israelis to disrupt the convoys or even harm the prisoners, or that the prisoners may cause problems.
Security forces have been put on alert at the five distribution points to prevent any rallies or protests from getting out of control.
"We have answers for all the scenarios and will know how to react as necessary," the senior IDF officer told reporters.
The IDF has taken pains to ensure that the prisoner release will receive full media coverage. Families of the prisoners are expected to greet them at the crossings, and the IDF hopes they will be joined by representatives of the PA who will ensure their return.
The plan is for all the convoys to arrive simultaneously at the five crossing points. Shortly before reaching the crossing points, however, the buses will halt and the handcuffs will be removed.
The largest number of prisoners, 103, will be freed at the Turkamiya roadblock. Another 70 will be released at Tulkarm, and 70 more at Beitunya, southwest of Ramallah. Sixty-eight will be released at the Salem roadblock near Jenin, and 28 are to be set free at the Erez crossing in the GazaStrip.
The list was not coordinated with the Palestinians, who have called it disappointing, as it contains few long-serving detainees.
Others greeted the release with skepticism, saying the bulk of the prisoners were due to be released shortly anyway.
"For me as a father, I hope that all the prisoners are released and not just Hussein," said Salman Abu Eid, whose son, Hussein Salman Abu Eid, was to be freed after serving 13 years of a 15-year sentence for belonging to Islamic Jihad.
Lamia Lahoud contributed to this report.
Palestinians leave Ketziot prison in the South to their release. (AP)
THIS JUST IN: In Gaza, a new generation of Palestinians
financially and materially supported by another $26,000,000 by President Bush
here this week idolizes Saddam and his dead sons, as they mourn the terrorists deaths.
All Palestinians mourn America's triumph in Iraq,
even as they cheered the 911 Atrocities which murdered thousands of innocent Americans.
Will history repeat itself? Probably because
several branches of Palestinians promise to use all money obtained
to further murder more Israelis, Jews, Christians and Americans
along their "Road Map (against America and the Free World)".
Security sources said the 339 Palestinians to be released include 182 security prisoners currently serving their terms and 157 administrative detainees. The list includes one woman. Security officials insisted none were involved in lethal attacks on Israelis.It sounds like no actual terrorists are being released. Certainly the IDF will be watching to see if any of these 339 people are re-arrested, and if they are the "later date" for the 99 will be pushed back.
It's interesting that the IDF is worried about attacks on the convoys by Israelis.
-Eric
Terrorist Release Begins
12:11 Aug. 06, '03 / 8 Av 5763
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=47700
The first of 339 PA prisoners - including terrorists and security administrative detainees - have already begun to be released. Of these, 182 were in prison for terrorist activity, although they did not actually harm anyone directly. The other 157 are administrative detainees. Another 99 common criminals and illegal aliens will be freed next week.
Several buses have already left from the Ketziot Prison in the Negev, where most of the prisoners were incarcerated, and others have departed from other jails. The buses will drop off the prisoners at various checkpoints, where their families will be waiting. Israeli officials will also be on hand, to explain Israel's position to the waiting reporters and cameramen from around the world.
Family members of terrorist victims will be at several of the checkpoints, to protest the release of the terrorists. They say that the only difference between terrorists with blood on their hands and those being released today is that the latter "missed - but will try again."
The Justice Ministry canceled the release of two terrorists yesterday. One of them, Rami Azat Barghouti, tortured Arabs he believed had cooperated with Israel. Arutz-7 has learned that a representative of the Arabs turned to the Terror Victims Association and asked for its help in preventing Barghouti's release. The government's position is not to release terrorists who caused physical harm to people.
Some 6,500 Arab prisoners living in the Palestinian Authority still remain in Israeli prisons.
Update:
The release has been complete. They were handed into the Palestinian Authority controlled territories. This is yet another sucessful step part of this hudna, which is all about the terrorist groups getting stronger and bigger. There may not be any terrorist who committed an attack on Israelis in the released list, however, many of those on the list are MEMBERS in terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and as a terror victim has stated (you can see it in the link above), the only difference between between terrorists with blood on their hands and those being released today is that the latter "missed - but will try again."
Israeli media also reports that minutes after the terrorists were released, a mortar shell was launched at a Jewish community in Gaza, no injuries reported. This is in direct violation of the hudna (which is one of more then a hundred violations), but hey, who cares.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.