Israel freed 159 Palestinian prisoners Monday as a gesture to Egypt and moderate new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, but he called for a "serious release" of thousands of security detainees. 

Buses carrying prisoners left Ketziot prison in southern Israel for the West Bank border, witnesses said. Detainees freed to tearful reunions with relatives kissed the ground and flashed V-for-victory signs. Cars honked horns and carried some prisoners around in a celebratory procession.

Palestinian leaders welcomed the release of 113 men jailed for security offences and 46 for illegally entering Israel, but said the move fell far short of their demands.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had promised the release to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after the handover earlier this month of Azzam Azzam, an Israeli sentenced in Egypt in 1997 to a 15-year term on espionage charges. Israel denied he was a spy.

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Abbas, frontrunner in the January 9 presidential election to choose Arafat's successor, has made the release of more than 7,000 Palestinians held by Israel part of his campaign to encourage militants to lay down their arms.

"I respect every prisoner that is released but we need a serious release process," Abbas told reporters.

A list provided by the Israel Prisons Authority showed that most of the prisoners going free yesterday were nearing the end of their terms.

Israel vs. Abbas

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday criticized PLO leader Abbas for his "harsh" campaign statement, Israel Radio reported.

In his first presidential campaign speech on Saturday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, front runner Abbas vowed there will be no peace until Israel withdraws from all occupied Palestinian territories it captured in the 1967 Mideast War and accepts a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.

He also said Israel must allow Palestinian refugees to return and free all Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas is seen as the most likely successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died on November 11.

In response to Abbas' remarks that appeared to keep to Arafat's stance, Shalom said, "At a time when there is perhaps a great atmosphere of hope in the region and in the world as a whole, harsh statements such as these are not encouraging."

(China Daily December 28, 2004)