Israeli prisoner release

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Israel Begins Freeing 26 Palestinian Prisoners

Israeli relatives of victims hold protests throughout the day

(Newser) - Israel released 26 Palestinian inmates, including many convicted in grisly killings, on the eve of renewed Mideast negotiations, angering families of those slain by the prisoners, who were welcomed as heroes in the West Bank and Gaza. Buses carrying the inmates departed the Ayalon prison in central Israel late today,...

Israel Frees Another 550 Palestinians

Release follows clash at internment compound

(Newser) - Israel has set free another 550 Palestinian prisoners, completing the deal that secured the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit . Thousands gathered at the former home of Yasser Arafat to celebrate alongside Palestinian officials. Most prisoners were directed to the West Bank; some 41 were sent to Gaza, and a...

Israel Freeing 1K Palestinians to Bring Soldier Home

Government strikes deal with Hamas for Gilad Shalit

(Newser) - After more than five years as a captive of Palestinian militants, soldier Gilad Shalit will be home within days, the Israeli government says. Shalit, now 25, was 19 when he was captured during a cross-border raid in 2006, and his captivity has long been an emotional issue in Israel. To...

Israel Releases 198 Palestinians
 Israel Releases 198 Palestinians
Aug 25, 2008 9:09 AM CDT

Israel Releases 198 Palestinians

Freed prisoners intended to shore up Fatah PM Abbas; some in Israel fuming

(Newser) - Israel today released 198 Palestinian prisoners in an effort to bolster Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, the AFP reports. The release, on the eve of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, included two prisoners held since the late 1970s who were convicted of murdering Israelis. One of them,...

Israel Releases 5 Prisoners, 200 Bodies in Hezbollah Deal

Exchanges for remains of 2 missing soldiers

(Newser) - Israel released five Lebanese prisoners and nearly 200 bodies today, the New York Times reports, completing a deal with Hezbollah that netted the Jewish state the bodies of two of its captured soldiers. The most notable prisoner was Samir Kuntar, who had spent more than three decades in Israeli prison...

Hezbollah Returns Bodies of 2 Israeli Soldiers

Corpses of servicemen who sparked 2006 war back home

(Newser) - Hezbollah handed over the corpses of two slain Israeli soldiers in an exchange at the Lebanon-Israel border this morning, Reuters reports. The soldiers' capture sparked the 2006 war that killed 1,200 in Lebanon and 159 Israelis. Once the remains are identified, Israel will free five Lebanese prisoners, including one...

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy
 Israel Returns
 Hezbollah Spy 
Jun 1, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy

Prisoner swap may be under way with Lebanon

(Newser) - Israel returned a Hezbollah spy to Lebanon today and may have started a prisoner exchange, BBC reports. Hezbollah quickly handed over the bodies of Israeli troops killed in 2006, but officials on both sides deny a swap is under way. Secret talks clearly are, perhaps aided by German mediators; a...

Israel Frees 250 Palestinians
Israel Frees 250 Palestinians
Jul 20, 2007 7:16 AM CDT

Israel Frees 250 Palestinians

Release represents support for Abbas government

(Newser) - Both sides expressed optimism as Israel released more than 250 Palestinian prisoners today, a sign of support for Mahmoud Abbas' government in its struggle with Hamas. Most of the prisoners were Fatah members, the AP reports; in keeping with the country's policy not to release prisoners incarcerated for killing or...

Israel to Free Fatah Prisoners
Israel to Free Fatah Prisoners
Jul 8, 2007 2:18 PM CDT

Israel to Free Fatah Prisoners

Another move to appeal to 'moderate' Palestinians

(Newser) - Following up on a pledge to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said his country would release 250 Palestinian prisoners, Reuters reports. Olmert said Israelis would use "any means...to reinforce moderate elements in the Palestinian Authority." The move is part of an effort by the...

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