Israel released 550 Palestinian security prisoners Sunday in the second and
final phase of the Gilad Schalit exchange deal with Hamas.
The inmates,
most of whom had already served most of their sentences, were transferred in
convoys of Prisons Service buses, guarded by police escorts.
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The statement came at a news conference in Gaza: "This achievement will not be the end of the story... We will continue to work for the prisoners at whatever cost," said spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, Abu Ovadia.
The 544 male prisoners
were gathered at Ayalon Prison in Ramle, and were joined by the six female priosners from
Sharon Prison. They were taken to four release points.
The vast majority
– 505 – were released to the West Bank around 10 p.m. Police reported sporadic
stone-throwing from a Palestinian area near Ofer Prison, minutes before the
prisoners were scheduled to be released. A soldier was lightly
wounded.
In addition, 41 prisoners were released to the Gaza Strip via
the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Two were sent to homes in east Jerusalem, and
two were sent across the Allenby Bridge to Jordan.
None of the 550
inmates released is a member of Hamas, and none has “blood on his hands,” said
defense officials.
Most were imprisoned for throwing Molotov cocktails
and stones, and some 400 have finished two-thirds of their
sentences.
Salah Hamouri, who plotted to murder Shas spiritual leader
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and Taltal Na’asan, a senior Force 17 member who confessed
to taking part in shooting attacks and planning to plant bombs near Ramallah are on the list of released
prisoners.
Also on the list was Darwis Dadar, a Tanzim terrorist who
participated in a Jerusalem suicide bombing that claimed the lives of three
Israelis in 2002.
During the first phase in October, Hamas released
Schalit after five years in captivity in Gaza, and Israel released 477
Palestinians, including perpetrators of some of the bloodiest terrorist attacks
in the past decade.
A total of 1,027 prisoners have been freed under the
deal.
Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.