Israel Frees 57 Palestinian Prisoners

BEITUNIYA CHECKPOINT, West Bank - Dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners kissed the ground at this West Bank checkpoint after Israel released them in a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference.

As the 57 prisoners headed home, Israel said it was moving forward with plans to open a new West Bank police headquarters, despite U.S. concerns that development in the area harms prospects for establishing a viable Palestinian state. The Palestinians accused Israel of undermining new peace efforts.

The prisoners arrived at the army's Beituniya checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a two-hour journey from the Ketziot prison in southern Israel.

They got off Israeli buses, kissed the asphalt, and then boarded a Palestinian bus. An ecstatic crowd of waiting relatives clapped and waved Palestinian flags.

Israel was expected to free 30 other prisoners in the Gaza Strip on Monday, but the release was delayed without explanation.

Most of the prisoners slated for release Monday 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.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the release - the second since July - as part of his strategy 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 freed Monday were serving time for militant activity, none was convicted of killing or injuring Israelis.

Among those released was 66-year-old Rakad Salim, who served five years of an eight-year sentence for distributing millions of dollars from the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Palestinian militants and their families. His relatives and supporters held up pictures of Saddam and kissed and hugged him after he got off the bus.

"I feel that I am a new man, enjoying my freedom," said a smiling Salim. "This release is not enough, but we hope it is the beginning of emptying all the (Israeli) prisons."

The prisoners later traveled to a security compound in Ramallah, where they laid a wreath at the tomb of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In Gaza, Israeli troops shot and wounded a 14-year-old who was waiting with hundreds of Palestinians at the Erez crossing for their relatives to be released, medics and witnesses said.

The Israeli troops began firing from watchtowers when the Palestinians began approaching a no man's zone separating Gaza from Israel, the witnesses said. The military said troops opened fire at Palestinians who approached army positions at Erez and ignored warning shots.

Hamas called Monday's prisoner release insignificant.

"We congratulate the prisoners," said Mohammed al-Mudhoun a senior aid to Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas government in Gaza. "We consider this ... a humiliation for the leadership in Ramallah that considers this humble number a great achievement."

Palestinians with relatives in Israeli prisons gathered at the Red Cross offices in Gaza City, holding photographs of their loved ones.

One mother, Fatima Kaisi, said her 24-year-old son, Mohammed, is serving a 250-year sentence for involvement in the radical militant group Islamic Jihad.

"I'm happy for the mothers who are getting their sons back today, but the leaders have to know that there are hundreds of mothers and families still waiting to meet with their loved ones," Kaisi said.

Israeli troops killed two Hamas militants in Gaza on Monday in a gunbattle, Hamas said. The Israeli military said troops shot two armed Palestinian militants who attacked soldiers just inside Gaza. One soldier was slightly wounded by gunfire, the military said.

Olmert and Abbas are slated to meet Wednesday. The two leaders are trying to draft a joint vision of a peace deal to be presented at a peace conference expected to be held in November in Annapolis, Md.

The Palestinians want a detailed framework agreement, while Israel wants a statement that is shorter and more vague.

But even with peace efforts gaining speed, Israeli officials said they were determined to open the new West Bank police headquarters in an area just east of Jerusalem known as E-1.

The U.S. has blocked past Israeli efforts to develop the five-square-mile area. Plans envision 3,500 homes, hotels and an industrial park.

The E-1 project, if completed, would effectively cut off eastern Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital, from the West Bank hinterland. Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of trying to consolidate control over West Bank land east of Jerusalem, with the help of a separation barrier and new highways.

Israel's public security minister, Avi Dichter, told the Haaretz daily that police officers would move to the new building by the end of 2007. Haaretz quoted Dichter as saying Israel was not seeking U.S. consent.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that Israel is undermining fledgling peace efforts.