151 Palestinian Prisoners Freed
Shots rang out in celebration, tears flowed and bagpipes played as 151 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel on Friday returned home to loved ones in a crush of hugs and kisses.
The releases were another sign of cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians since Prime Minister Ehud Barak took office in July.
“Mother, he’s out!” a teenage boy shouted into a cellular phone when he saw his brother.
Relatives in the Gaza Strip jumped in the air to kiss prisoners leaning out of the windows of buses taking them to freedom. Palestinian policemen let off bursts of celebratory gunfire.
The prisoners included 41 Arabs from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Jordan who had joined the struggle against Israel.
Israel has now freed 350 prisoners in two groups since Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat signed an interim peace deal Sept. 5. It has promised to release yet more in early December.
Another section of the September deal will be implemented next week with the opening of a passage between the West Bank and Gaza through Israeli territory.
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