Israel set to release prisoners
01/10/2007 11:03  - (SA)  

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Palestinian prisoners stand in a cell pending their release from Ketziot prison camp in southern Israel's Negev desert. (Ariel Schalit, AP)

Settlers create new outposts Abbas calls for clear agenda Israel jails border guards Israel 'making excuses for war' Gaza death toll climbs to 11 Inmates freed to bolster Abbas

Ketziot Prison, Israel - Palestinian prisoners at a desert jail removed their brown prison jumpsuits and donned civilian clothes as Israel prepared to release them on Monday in a move designed to bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The 87 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 Strip.

The prisoners were allowed to board the buses early on Monday, only to be taken off as the release was delayed "for technical reasons," according to Prisons Authority spokesperson Yaron Zamir. The release was expected to go ahead around midday, Zamir said.

Most of the prisoners are from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas and his government of moderates. Around one-third are residents of the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the Islamic militants of 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 are members of smaller Palestinian factions. None belong to Hamas.

Israel is holding around 11 000 Palestinian prisoners, and their release is a central Palestinian demand.

- AP

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