Israeli authorities say all 183 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed today have been released.
The prisoners were transferred from the Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and Ketziot prison in southern Israel ahead of their release, a spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service says.
Earlier on, Palestinian prisoners arriving in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and were reunited with loved ones. Some of the prisoners released today have been serving life or lengthy sentences.
Buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip after leaving Israeli prisons
Large crowds gathered to welcome the freed prisoners, as Israel confirmed all 183 people due to be freed today have been released
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing – which is the sole crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip – has reopened after eight months, as the first group of wounded Palestinians have been evacuated to Egypt
This comes after the earlier release of three Israeli hostages – Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon and Keith Siegel – as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that began on 19 January
The deal was never going to be without controversy or critics, especially on Israel’s far right. It sees hundreds of Palestinians freed in exchange for a far smaller number of Israelis.
Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned as National Security Minister over the deal, saying he was “horrified” that “life-sentenced terrorists” would be released.
It may be memories of the deal to exchange Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners weighs heavy here. One of those released in the 2011 deal was Yahya Sinwar, who went on to mastermind the 7th October attacks.
Indeed, some of those being released had been found guilty of serious crimes, although none were accused of involvement in October 7th. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Association say 18 were serving life, with another 54 having received long sentences.
It is worth pointing out, however, that the majority of those freed were held on what Israel calls “administrative detention”, but what their critics call imprisonment without charge.
Of the 183 being released today, 25 of them are said to have gone to the occupied West Bank, seven will be deported to Egypt, with the rest being sent to Gaza.
It’s interesting to note, although maybe unsurprising, that on Israeli media the overwhelming focus of the coverage is the emotional scenes as the men reunite with their families, rather than the pictures of family reunions simultaneously taking place in the occupied West Bank.
