Israel to release 199 Palestinian detainees on Monday

Sunday August 24, 2008 23:19 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli Authorities are to release 199 Palestinian detainees on Monday morning at 9:30, as a gesture of “good will” towards the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. The release of the detainees was officially approved after the Israeli High Court rejected an appeal against the move.

The detainees will be summoned in Ofer detention facility, near Jerusalem, and will be transferred to Betonia checkpoint before being transferred by busses to the Palestinian headquarters in Ramallah.

The Palestinian presidency stated that it will hold a public celebration welcoming the detainees.

Ashraf Al Ajrami, the Minister of Detainees at the Palestinian government, stated in a press conference on Sunday that the release detainees are members of different factions, including the Islamic Jihad.

Al Ajrami added that the Palestinian leadership demanded Israel to release leaders of different factions, including the head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr. Aziz Dweik, along with several detained legislators, sick detainees, women, children, and detained from Jerusalem as we all Arab residents of Israel. But this demand was apparently disregarded.

This release comes while the Israeli army is ongoing with its arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank. On Sunday morning, soldiers kidnapped six Palestinian in several areas in the West Bank and on Friday, soldiers kidnapped 11 Palestinians mainly in Ramallah and Bethlehem.

In July, soldiers kidnapped 313 Palestinians in the West Bank, and a relatively similar number of Palestinians were kidnapped this month.

palestine | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org