Israeli security forces arrested more than 40 Palestinians early Monday in the West Bank, hours before Israel began to release 429 prisoners as a goodwill gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas.
In Nablus, a number of Israeli army vehicles have stormed the town and arrested 12 people, Palestinian security sources said.
Some 15 others were arrested in Hebron and another 10 were detained in Bethlehem, the sources added. Several others were nabbed in Ramallah and Jenin.
Hours after these detentions, Israel began to release 429 Palestinian prisoners, which was planned before last week's Annapolis Mideast peace conference.
Three buses carrying over 140 Palestinian security prisoners left the Ketziot prison in the Negev at about 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), and arrived at the Bitunia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the prisoners were handed over to Palestinian National Authority security forces, Xinhua witnessed.
Ian Bomnitz, a spokesman for Israel Prison Service, told Xinhua that 408 Palestinians would be sent to the West Bank and 21 to the Gaza Strip, most of whom are members of the Fatah faction.
The release processes are carried out in stages, so as not to create too much pressure on the crowded Bitunia crossing, added Bomnitz.
The prisoners' release, originally scheduled before the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis conference, was postponed for Sunday, and then delayed again for Monday.
More than 9,000 Palestinian security prisoners are in Israeli jails. Their release is a central Palestinian demand, and Monday's release is intended to strengthen Abbas in his struggle against Hamas.
Hamas wrested control of the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Abbas in June, and remains firmly in control there.
Source: Xinhua
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