LOC13:33
10:33 GMT
RAMALLAH, Oct 13 (KUNA) -- Israeli occupation authorities on Monday released a group of Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank serving life sentences, as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan.
A total of 83 prisoners arrived in Ramallah, transported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) buses from Ofer Prison, west of the city, to the Ramallah Cultural Palace, where hundreds gathered to welcome them.
Under the agreement, five additional prisoners from occupied Jerusalem are to be released. Occupation authorities summoned their families this morning for interrogation at the Moskobiya detention center.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it received one of the Jerusalem detainees, wounded prisoner Ayman Al-Kurd, from Ofer Prison and transferred him to his home in Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem.
Al-Kurd was shot 13 times by occupation forces in Jerusalem in 2016. At the time, Israeli occupation authorities prevented ambulances from reaching him.
According to Hamas' media office, the agreement includes the release of 1,968 prisoners under the third phase of a prisoner exchange deal.
It said the released group includes 250 life-sentence prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, arrested after October 7, 2023.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club stated that 154 of those released will be deported abroad, while 96 will remain in Palestinian territories, including eight from Gaza and 88 returning to the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israeli occupation forces violently dispersed hundreds of Palestinians and relatives of detainees near Ofer Prison, firing live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas, also targeting journalists.
Medical teams reported one young man shot in the foot and several others suffering from gas inhalation.
Israeli forces also stormed Beituniya, near the Ofer military base, using military vehicles, and fired gas and stun grenades at journalists to prevent coverage of the prisoner release.
Over the past two days, Israeli occupation forces returned more than 150 Palestinians at the Al-Karama border crossing with Jordan, preventing them from reaching Cairo to meet deported relatives. (end)
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