Palestinian authorities release list of 39 prisoners expected to be freed

In all, 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed during the four-day truce.
Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.(Photo | AP)
Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.(Photo | AP)

JERUSALEM: Palestinian authorities have released a list of 39 Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Friday, including 24 women and 15 teenage boys, in exchange for 13 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

The swap is part of a four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war. The truce began Friday after seven weeks of war.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group, said the 39 detainees from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem will be delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Israel’s Ofer Prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Their release is to take place after 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), when Hamas is due to return the 13 Israeli hostages to Israel.

Most of the 15 Palestinian teenagers to be released Friday were arrested over incitement and stone-throwing, as well as the broadly defined charge of “supporting terrorism.”

The 24 women include some convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to yearslong prison terms for attacks against Israeli security forces.

In all, 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed during the four-day truce.

Israel currently holds 7,200 Palestinians charged with or convicted of security offenses.

The Prisoners’ Club said about 2,000 Palestinians were arrested since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the war.

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