RAMALLAH, West Bank (news agencies) — The release of four female Israeli soldiers from Hamas captivity on Saturday came at a heavy cost for Israel.
Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners, 120 of them serving life sentences, from its jails as part of a ceasefire deal. They ranged in age from 16 to 67.
Some were set free into an exuberant West Bank, while those whose offenses were considered too serious were transferred to Egypt.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, dozens of freed Palestinians, all looking frail in stained gray Israeli prison jumpsuits, disembarked from a white Red Cross bus. They launched themselves into a jubilant crowd.
The images dredged up trauma for Israelis whose loved ones were killed by some of those released.
Moshe Har Melech, whose son was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack in 2003, said that he was sickened by the released prisoners being greeted as “superheroes” and warned that even exile was no deterrent.
“They’ll continue remotely recruiting and establishing terrorist cells,” he said. “This time, they’ll be more experienced.”
Adrenalized Palestinian teens, some of whom had previously shared prison cells with those released, streamed the revelry on social media. Medics ran tests on the prisoners, who told of harsh conditions and frequent beatings in Israeli jail. Mothers and sons wept as they hugged each other for the first time in years.
“It can’t be described. To be between your mother and father, it’s an indescribable feeling,” said Azmi Nafaa, accused of trying to ram his vehicle into Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in 2015 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released after nine years.
His mother, Hadiya Hamdan, said she would cook meat dumplings in yogurt sauce. Nafaa suggested they try the more elaborate “mansaf,” a Bedouin dish of lamb and rice served at Palestinian weddings and celebrations.
“But that may be difficult for you,” he said.
She looked at him and smiled. “No,” she replied. “Nothing will be difficult.”
There was no such reception for the 70 prisoners sent into exile, whose convoy made its way south and quietly slipped through Gaza’s Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
Underscoring the challenges for Israel, the homecoming for prisoners in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, revealed an outpouring of support for the rival Hamas group. Many young Palestinians waved the green flags of Hamas and called on the militant group to capture more Israelis in order to free all the prisoners.
Here’s a look at the more prominent Palestinian prisoners released on Saturday.