FREED Palestinian prisoners returned to a heroes' welcome on the West Bank hours before the resumption of Middle East peace talks in Jerusalem.
Israel released 26 Palestinians serving long jail terms, many for deadly attacks on Israelis, bussing them in the dead of night to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
They were welcomed by hundreds of Palestinians including President Mahmoud Abbas who kissed some of the men and flashed victory signs.
The release helped keep the US-sponsored peacemaking on course for a second round of talks, but the efforts have been dogged by Israeli plans for more Jewish homes on occupied land the Palestinians claim for a future state.
Mr Abbas told the crowd in the West Bank capital of Ramallah, where 11 ex-prisoners arrived: "We congratulate ourselves and our families for our brothers who left the darkness of the prisons for the light of the sun of freedom. We say to them and to you that the remainder are on their way, these are just the first."
The other 15 freed prisoners went to Gaza, a territory under the control of Mr Abbas's Islamist Hamas rivals, and were received by relatives who set off fireworks and shot guns into the air in celebration.
"I never expected to see him again. My feelings cannot be described in words, the joy of the whole world is with me," said Adel Mesleh, whose brother Salama Mesleh was jailed in 1993 for killing an Israeli.
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