Israel on Monday began the release of 159 Palestinian prisoners in fulfillment of a promise to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and as a goodwill gesture to the new Palestinian leadership.
Of the prisoners slated for release, 113 have been held for security reasons, the remainder for illegally entering the country.
Earlier this month, ‘Azzam ‘Azzam, an Israeli Druze man was released from an Egyptian prison where he was serving a sentence after being convicted of spying for Israel. Israel promised a release of Palestinian prisoners as part of that arrangement.
Although Israeli leaders are calling today’s release a goodwill gesture, Palestinian leaders dismiss it as insufficient. They point out that more than 7,000 Palestinians are presently in Israeli jails and are demanding that all of them be released.