Israel freed 224 Palestinian militants from its prisons Monday as a goodwill gesture to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, reported dpa.
An Israel Prison Service (IPS) spokesman said the release was underway.
"Three additional inmates who had been due to be freed as well were not released," she said, giving no details.
Of those freed, 206 were transported to the Beitunia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah, while another 18 headed to the Erez crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of relatives and supporters waited on the Palestinian side of the Beitunia checkpoint, waving Palestinian and yellow flags of Abbas' secular Fatah movement and carrying posters of late Fatah leader Yasser Arafat.
