Dozens of newly released Palestinian prisoners descended from buses and kissed the asphalt at this West Bank checkpoint after Israel freed them in a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference this fall, according to AP. The prisoners arrived at the army's Beituniya checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a two-hour journey from the Ketziot prison in southern Israel. The prisoners, 57 in all, got off Israeli buses, kissed the ground then boarded a Palestinian bus. An ecstatic crowd of waiting relatives clapped and waved Palestinian flags. Israel was expected to free 30 Palestinian prisoners in the Gaza Strip on Monday, but the release was delayed until Tuesday, and it was not immediately clear whether all of them would be freed. Officials gave no explanation for the delay. As the prisoners headed home, Israel said it was moving forward with plans to open a new West Bank police headquarters, despite U.S. concerns that development in the area harms prospects for establishing a viable Palestinian state. The Palestinians accused Israel of undermining new peace efforts. Most of the prisoners slated for release Monday are from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas and his government of moderates. The others are residents of Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since June, when they defeated the forces of Abbas' Fatah movement and took control of the coastal territory. Israeli 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. The prisoners are mostly members of Fatah, along with several who belong to smaller Palestinian factions. None belong to Hamas. Israel is holding around 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, and their release is a central Palestinian demand. While many of those released Monday were serving time for militant activity, none was convicted of killing or injuring Israelis. Among those released was 66-year-old Rakad Salim, who had served five years of an eight-year sentence for distributing millions of dollars from the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. His relatives and supporters held up pictures of Saddam and kissed and hugged Salim after he got off the bus.
