RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — Jubilant relatives greeted 429 Palestinian prisoners with firecrackers, blaring horns and tearful embraces Monday after Israel freed them in a peace gesture to moderate Palestinian leaders.
Although it was the largest number of prisoners released by Israel in a single batch in nearly three years, Palestinian officials said they were far from satisfied and would keep insisting on a broader amnesty during peace talks set to begin next week.
Israel's prison service says it now holds about 8,800 Palestinians accused or convicted of security-related offenses; Palestinian officials put the number at 11,500. Many of those freed had just a few months remaining in their sentences.
Among the short-timers was Basel abu Hmaid, who was jailed in 2003 for his role in the last Palestinian uprising. He had been scheduled to be released in May. At Israel's Ofer military camp, he and others were loaded onto four Palestinian buses and driven to freedom, followed by carloads of family members who had been waiting in the West Bank a few yards away.
Later, amid the din of celebration inside the walled Ramallah compound of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Hmaid voiced mixed emotions. Five of his brothers remain in prison, some serving life sentences.
"My happiness is not complete," he said. "There are thousands of prisoners waiting for the freedom. We want to see them all out soon."
Palestinian prisoners have long been an emotionally charged bargaining chip in peace negotiations. Palestinians view their jailed brethren as fighters against foreign occupation, while Israelis consider them criminals and worry that such amnesties will only encourage them to return to violence.
Israel freed 500 prisoners in February 2005 to reward Abbas for arranging a cease-fire. That was the last such amnesty until this year. In July and October, Israel released 342 inmates in two batches to help boost the Palestinian leader's standing against his rivals in the Islamic militant movement Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction.
Nearly all the prisoners freed this year are from Abbas' Fatah movement.
Monday's release was promised last month by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, over the objection of his hawkish critics at home, to show a commitment to peace talks. With President Bush's blessing, Olmert and Abbas agreed last week at a summit in Annapolis, Md., to open formal peace talks in Jerusalem on Dec. 12.
