son jumpsuits, donned civilian clothes and left for home Monday as Israel freed them in a move meant to bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Two buses carrying 57 prisoners to the West Bank left at midday, while the release of 30 additional prisoners to the Gaza Strip was delayed. Israel's Prisons Authority gave no reason for the holdup.
Earlier, all of the prisoners slated to be freed filed by a table where prison clerks stamped release forms, and buses stood by waiting to take them to checkpoints leading from Israel into the West Bank and Gaza. The prisoners were allowed to board the buses early Monday, only to be taken off as the release was delayed "for technical reasons," according to Prisons Authority spokesman Yaron Zamir.
Most of the prisoners are from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas and his government of moderates. The others are residents of Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since June, when they defeated the forces of Abbas' Fatah movement and took control of the coastal territory.
Monday's scheduled prisoner release, the second in recent months, is an Israeli move meant to support Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas. The prisoners are mostly members of Fatah, along with several who belong to smaller Palestinian factions. None belong to Hamas.
Israel is holding around 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, and their release is a central Palestinian demand. While many of those released Monday were serving time for militant activity, none was convicted in attacks on Israelis.
