Dozens of Palestinian prisoners crossed into the West Bank Monday after being released from an Israeli detention facility as part of a move designed to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle against Hamas.

The Israeli Prisons Authority freed 57 Palestinian prisoners from the Ketziot jail in southern Israel, but 29 prisoners from Gaza didn’t cross into the salient as expected. They were scheduled to cross into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing in the early hours, but for unknown reasons the convoy didn’t leave the prison.

Israeli officials said the “necessary authorization” hasn’t been received, refraining from giving additional details.

Hundreds of people gathered in Ramallah to greet the 57 former detainees who entered the Fatah-controlled region through an Israeli military checkpoint near the city serving as headquarters for the newly formed Palestinian government.
 
Among those released was Rakad Salem, longtime Secretary-General of the Arab Liberation Front (ALF) known for supporting former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Salem was sentenced to eight years in prison for giving away money from Saddam Hussein’s regime to the relatives of jailed and killed Palestinian militants.

Dozens of people were waiting for Salem at the Beitunya checkpoint and cheered him as the two buses opened their doors and the politician stepped on Palestinian soil after five years of detention.

Another prisoner was also supposed to be released, but he remained at the detention facility because Israeli authorities had doubts about which militant group he belonged to and checked his background once again, a Prisons Authority spokesman said.

Israel decided to release 87 prisoners, most of them being members of the armed wing of the Fatah party. Several others belong to armed factions of smaller groups, but none were members of the radical Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations.

The Jerusalem government said this latest move is a “goodwill measure” to the Palestinian leader during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Israel is trying to boost Abbas in his political feud with the rival Islamic movement controlling Gaza since mid-June.

On July 20, Israel freed 255 Palestinian prisoners as a first sign of support, most of them being Fatah members of supporters. Israeli officials threw their support behind Abbas’ administration, that promotes the two-state solution and ended the armed struggle aimed at obtaining Palestinian statehood.