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A Palestinian prisoner hugs his father at PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Ramallah headquarters after being released by Israel on Monday. (AP)
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Last update - 23:32 01/10/2007
Israel to release 30 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza on Tuesday
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Israel will release 30 Palestinian prisoners who reside in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, one day after the release of 57 prisoners from the West Bank.

The Israel Prisons Service freed the 57 West Bank residents from the Ketziot prison in the Negev late Monday morning, as part of an effort to bolster the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Another 30 prisoners from the Gaza Strip were expected to be freed Monday as well, but their release was delayed due to procedural and legal questions.

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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said the prisoners from Gaza would be released on Tuesday. A statement said President Shimon Peres signed all of the Gaza pardons.

Security officials said IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi had sent Peres a letter expressing reservation about the prisoner release, saying it was immoral to free prisoners to Gaza while militants there continue to hold abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Ashkenazi did, however, give the necessary approval to the release despite his reservations.

Peres, as president, has to authorize sentence commutations, and did not sign off until late in the day. Peres spokesman Yoram Dori refused to comment on the defense officials' report or discuss the delay.

Peres' signature was not required for the release of West Bank-based prisoners because the area is under the authority of the Israel Defense Forces and the men were freed in accordance with an order signed by an IDF general.

The 87 prisoners are mostly members of Fatah, along with several who are members of smaller Palestinian factions. None belong to Hamas.

Israel holds around 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, and their release has long been a central Palestinian demand.

Meanwhile, IDF troops shot and injured a Palestinian teen who was
waiting with hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza Strip crossing for their relatives to be released, medics and witnesses said. The boy, 14, was moderately injured, the medics said. The IDF troops began firing from watchtowers at the Erez crossing when the Palestinians began approaching a no-man's zone separating Gaza from Israel, the witnesses said.

The army said troops opened fire at Palestinians who approached army
positions at Erez and ignored warning shots. The soldiers aimed for their legs to avoid fatal injuries, the military said

Waiting in Gaza
After their release on Monday, the freed prisoners arrived at the army's Beituniya checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a two-hour journey from Ketziot. The prisoners got off Israeli buses and kissed the ground before boarding a Palestinian bus. An ecstatic crowd of waiting relatives clapped and waved Palestinian flags.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the prisoner release, the second
since July, last month as part of his strategy to support Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas. While many of those released Monday were serving time for militant activity, none was convicted of killing or injuring Israelis.

In Gaza City, a group of Palestinians with relatives in Israeli prisons gathered at the Red Cross offices, holding photographs of their imprisoned loved ones. One mother, Fatima Kaisi, said her 24-year-old son Mohammed is serving a 250-year sentence for his 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.

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Portion of the week
The world where humans didn't have responsibilities has become one of constant toil.
Vox Populi
Finally there's a platform for an Arab in an Israeli paper and this is what he writes?
  1.   Good move but...... 09:35  |  Hastaroth 01/10/07
  2.   Immoral, inhuman, and stupid 09:52  |  Choni Davidowitz 01/10/07
  3.   How many Palestinians has it arrested in the last 2 weeks? 09:58  |  Clickfool 01/10/07
  4.   BIG MISTAKE (AGAIN) 10:27  |  Marc Hamil 01/10/07
  5.   To #3 apparently not enough! 10:30  |  Marc Hamil 01/10/07
  6.   What`s the point? 10:41  |  Slibovitz 01/10/07
  7.   big deal 11:44  |  ravi 01/10/07
  8.   To #3 Clickfool 11:46  |  Lavy 01/10/07
  9.   RELEASE ALL KIDNAPPED PALESTINIANS 11:51  |  TrippleJump 01/10/07
  10.   They should have never been imprisonned in the first place 11:54  |  Arthur 01/10/07
  11.   RELEASE Palestinian CHILDREN and WOMEN NOW 11:55  |  Kokonot 01/10/07
  12.   Thank you, Master 12:01  |  Tim 01/10/07
  13.   #12tim and 90 years of patience waiting for arabs to mature 12:27  |  victor hardman 01/10/07
  14.   They will carry their next "mission" in no time ! 12:46  |  Aaron 01/10/07
  15.   ALL THESE TERRORISTS WHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED ON SIGHT FOR... 12:47  |  Ron 01/10/07
  16.   Government of Israel busy releasing murderers and 12:54  |  John 01/10/07
  17.   Israel setting them up for there fate? 12:58  |  Lavy 01/10/07
  18.   RELEASE??? Damn Olmert`s circus. What about our boys! 13:57  |  bat yam 01/10/07
  19.   ravi of chandigarh and indian prisons 13:57  |  farah and tabu 01/10/07
  20.   ravi 2how many years would it take to release 11000 14:00  |  dehra dun 01/10/07
  21.   ravi there are 84000 kashmiri freedom fighters 14:01  |  inspectorsaab 01/10/07
  22.   RELEASE??? Damn Olmert`s circus. What about our boys! 14:10  |  bat yam 01/10/07
  23.   kokonot # 11 14:13  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  24.   ravi # 7 14:17  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  25.   TrippleJump # 9 14:18  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  26.   OLMERT, CONTRIBTORS HERE ARE CURSING YOU! R U NOT AFRAID? 14:28  |  Alan 01/10/07
  27.   release of Palestinian prisoners 14:33  |  Ralph 01/10/07
  28.   Murderers? 14:37  |  Outsider 01/10/07
  29.   Aaron in The Netherlands (Post No. 14) 15:04  |  Johnny Weintraub 01/10/07
  30.   Release them to Sussex with Clickfool 15:04  |  AndyT 01/10/07
  31.   to Chanah about no 11 15:08  |  tina 01/10/07
  32.   They`ve had a good vacation 15:39  |  * BEN JABO 01/10/07
  33.   For What Purpose? 15:49  |  Chick 01/10/07
  34.   Free more prisoners = Jail more Jews 15:49  |  Ronnbo 01/10/07
  35.   those crazy politicians in Israel 16:01  |  alan 01/10/07
  36.   tina...31 16:11  |  ravi 01/10/07
  37.   #10 Arthur! That is terrible. 16:28  |  Murray of Montreal 01/10/07
  38.   #11 Kokonot "apartheidic"? 16:41  |  Nelson Mandela 01/10/07
  39.   ravi "not a congenial neighbourhead" 17:14  |  farah and tabu 01/10/07
  40.   I HOPE they were De-brained 17:18  |  ottomatik 01/10/07
  41.   #3 Clickfool; Arrests were low but 17:25  |  Dutchy 01/10/07
  42.   To bat yam @ 18 - RELEASE? What about our boys? 17:34  |  Dolly 01/10/07
  43.   Goodwill Gestures don`t always help ...... 18:01  |  Dagma 01/10/07
  44.   More terrorists who will attack Israel 18:05  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  45.   What about Shalit 18:06  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  46.   35. alan: those crazy politicians 18:08  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  47.   9. TrippleJump: TERRORISTS MUST ROT IN JAIL 18:11  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  48.   tina # 31 18:31  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  49.   kutw---your are correct 18:53  |  alan 01/10/07
  50.   49. alan 19:18  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  51.   marc hamil 5 19:18  |  realism 01/10/07
  52.   chanahs 23 19:23  |  realism 01/10/07
  53.   well well well... 19:44  |  Igor D. 01/10/07
  54.   #48 Channah S 19:52  |  peacenik 01/10/07
  55.   SHALIT 19:55  |  NEIL GOLAN 01/10/07
  56.   neighbours? 19:56  |  Groan 01/10/07
  57.   Let`s hope they choose to lead productive lives 20:11  |  Gina 01/10/07
  58.   #39 farah and tabu 20:21  |  Sarah 01/10/07
  59.   Release of prisioners 20:22  |  Connie M. 01/10/07
  60.   release them all 20:48  |  Steve 01/10/07
  61.   49. alan 20:50  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  62.   "23 Channah S is an expert on the word Apartheid. 20:54  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  63.   clickfool...how many british people have been arrested 21:02  |  maria 01/10/07
  64.   these sweet children and women ....release all the 21:04  |  maria 01/10/07
  65.   ON TV they looked very well fed and fit. 21:13  |  PETER SM 01/10/07
  66.   Well done Israel! 21:18  |  Silvienne 01/10/07
  67.   KUTW 21:19  |  Silvienne 01/10/07
  68.   Tell the Gaza prisoners to wave when they pass 21:19  |  Chick 01/10/07
  69.   how long they`ve been in the prison? 21:24  |  maria 01/10/07
  70.   Steve I see you are in the USA 21:29  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 01/10/07
  71.   Two Arabs in jail for murdering an arab 21:36  |  Israeli 01/10/07
  72.   C.FOOL how many Israelis have the Arabs tried to kill ? 21:37  |  PETER SM 01/10/07
  73.   Israeli thinking on prisoner release very noble 21:44  |  Chick 01/10/07
  74.   to Ravi no 36 21:47  |  Tina 01/10/07
  75.   Silvienne, Look at Clickfool`s question #3 21:51  |  Dutch 01/10/07
  76.   No big deal 21:54  |  christa 01/10/07
  77.   realism # 52 21:55  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  78.   Outrageous that Shalit is still in prison 21:55  |  Former American 01/10/07
  79.   peacenik # 54 21:56  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  80.   Groan # 56 21:57  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  81.   Steve #60 and his inaccuracies 22:02  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  82.   Labarse # 62 22:10  |  ChanahS 01/10/07
  83.   How many 22:18  |  Edith 01/10/07
  84.   PRISONER RELEASE 22:22  |  Reuven 01/10/07
  85.   . 67. Silvienne 22:29  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  86.   Israel stupidly lets the enemy roam free 22:44  |  pace306 01/10/07
  87.   #70 So called Moderate Margie in la la land again 22:46  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  88.   The photo on top 22:49  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  89.   66. Silvienne: Well done? 23:17  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  90.   has anyone seen the list whom these imbeciles have released 23:24  |  victor hardman 01/10/07
  91.   release of gazans 23:27  |  Shmuelshachor 01/10/07
  92.   What is the point? 23:33  |  Salty 01/10/07
  93.   . 67. Silvienne 23:40  |  KUTW 01/10/07
  94.   "66 Silvienne 23:43  |  Labhras 01/10/07
  95.   IDF CHIEF SAYS IMMORAL TO RELEASE 23:46  |  Dolly 01/10/07
  96.   i am extremely angry with israel for not pursuing 00:50  |  clausewitz 02/10/07
  97.   "79 Channah S 01:03  |  peacenik 02/10/07
  98.   these pauses in fighting the gazans reminds me of the 01:08  |  clausewitz 02/10/07
  99.   Re Post #91 Channah S 01:13  |  Labhras 02/10/07
  100.   # 81 ChannahS the purveyor of untruths or just plain uninformed 01:25  |  Labhras 02/10/07
  101.   candy 01:49  |  k 02/10/07
  102.   Silvienne and well done 02:00  |  Connie M. 02/10/07
  103.   #66 Silvienne & well done 02:12  |  * BEN JABO 02/10/07
  104.   #67 Silvienne to KUTW 02:14  |  * BEN JABO 02/10/07
  105.   Releasing prisoners 02:21  |  Truths 02/10/07
  106.   Tina Peace 02:25  |  Truths 02/10/07
  107.   #7 Ravi, sorry to disappoint you 02:53  |  JG 02/10/07
  108.   israel`s prisons are probably... 02:56  |  maria 02/10/07
  109.   chanah 77 04:51  |  realism 02/10/07
  110.   prisoners health 06:38  |  real vision 02/10/07
  111.   #72, Peter SM 06:56  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  112.   #75, Dutch... 06:58  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  113.   #85, KUTW... 07:00  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  114.   #89, KUTW... 07:01  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  115.   #94, Labhras... 07:04  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  116.   Peter SM and terror 07:05  |  Truth 02/10/07
  117.   #102, Connie... 07:07  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  118.   #108, maria... 07:09  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  119.   #103, Ben Jabo and Shalit 07:10  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  120.   Ben Jabo & Shalit 07:11  |  Silvienne 02/10/07
  121.   #87 Lab-rat in his lala land again 08:10  |  Hastaroth 02/10/07
  122.   #115 the truth is that terror has a90 year history 08:26  |  victor hardman 02/10/07
  123.   #106 Truths (not very true,indeed) 08:28  |  Hastaroth 02/10/07
  124.   silvienne have you any useful work to do? 08:28  |  victor hardman 02/10/07
  125.   RELEASEING PRISONERS. 08:54  |  DARREN 02/10/07
  126.   to thruth no 106 09:41  |  Tina 02/10/07
  127.   Ahmed Yassin 10:16  |  Jasmine Murphy 02/10/07
  128.   realism shmealism 10:23  |  Jasmine Murphy 02/10/07
  129.   Dear Groan 10:25  |  Israeli 02/10/07
  130.   ChanaS re: Lab-harass 10:32  |  Chanah`s friend 02/10/07
  131.   Tina what `realism` is really saying 10:34  |  Jasmine Murphy 02/10/07
  132.   #119 Silviienne 15:44  |  * BEN JABO 02/10/07
  133.   #120 Silvienne - you mentioned that in #119 15:45  |  * BEN JABO 02/10/07
  134.   #11 Kokonot 15:54  |  * BEN JABO 02/10/07
  135.   We`ll see them again shortly 02:17  |  * BEN JABO 03/10/07
  136.   #132, Ben Jabo... 03:24  |  Silvienne 03/10/07
  137.   #124, Victor Hardman...yes, I certainly do... 03:26  |  Silvienne 03/10/07
  138.   Another "headache" for IDF when you release 04:21  |  Cristo 03/10/07
  139.   #136 Silvienne - The Question 16:05  |  * BEN JABO 03/10/07
  140.   #139, Ben Jabo..do you mean this link? 01:24  |  Silvienne 04/10/07
  141.   Silvienne - Yes, othewise I wouldn`t have sent them 11:56  |  * BEN JABO 04/10/07
  142.   #141, Ben Jabo, I am, but you gotta explain... 04:27  |  Silvienne 05/10/07
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