Release of 87 Palestinian prisoners delayed

Monday October 01, 2007 12:44 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

At midday on Monday the Israeli authorities began to release 87 Palestinian detainees, a move which was announced several weeks ago.

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Earlier in the day media sources reported that the Israelis had delayed the release of the prisoners, scheduled for Monday.

Israeli sources said that the delay would last for at least two hours. The Israeli government decided to release some Palestinian prisoners during the holy month of Ramadan as a good will gesture towards Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Reuters reported that the release was meant to take place at 7:30 on Monday morning.

Once the plans were finalized the prisoners were loaded on to buses which were to take them to cities in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. However, before the buses moved off the prisoners were ordered off by Israeli soldiers and taken back to the detention camp.

The Qatar based Al Jazeera TV said that the order for the delay came from the Israeli Prime minister's office. The majority of the 87 set to be released today, which includes two minors, belong to Fatah. A small number are supporters of left-wing factions.

Official reports state that there are at least 9,850 Palestinian political detainees still in Israeli detention camps. Among this number are 105 women, 359 children and 40 Palestinian elected representatives. Most of the detainees have had no charges brought against them and have never stood trial.

bethlehem | prisoners | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org