It's finally Wednesday, and a number of Palestinian prisoners at the Israeli Ketziot detention camp in the Negev Desert in southern Israel rise earlier than usual. They are excited, knowing they will be no longer wake up in the jail cells, and are about to taste freedom in their own homes, among their families.
The prisoners quickly get dressed; some of them even wear the clothes they had on when they were first detained. All the prisoners due to be released are ready, except one of them who remains in bed, and doesn't seem to share the enthusiasm of his cellmates.
He finally gets up, saying, "My sentence would expire tomorrow; I'd rather spend another day in jail than to be part of some Israeli trick that would only delude public opinion about our issues."
This story was told by Hamad al-Semri, a 43-year-old from the Gaza Strip, who was among the prisoners released Wednesday. He was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment and he spent 11 months in jail for being a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas.
A loud voice blared out through the prison's loudspeakers, announcing in poor Arabic that it's time for the prisoners to leave their cells, he related.
They have to go through a number of medical and security checks before boarding buses that will take them on their long-awaited ride home.
Each prisoner carries a number, and is called by that and not by his name, said al-Semri.
They finally step onto the buses as they take one final look at the prison and wave to other prisoners standing in the yard. The bus takes off heading to the northern Gaza Strip Erez terminal.
Meanwhile, the prisoners' relatives and friends, along with tens of regular Gazans who sympathize with the prisoners' issues, have rushed to the Eretz terminal to await their arrival. Men, mothers waiting to see their sons, or women carrying children and longing for their husbands' return, are all waiting for the big moment.
The bus arrives at Erez at noon. The driver stops, turns off the engine and waits. "What are we waiting for," asks one of the prisoners?
"It's still too early," replies the driver. "We will be crossing at 2:00 p.m."
Israeli authorities had postponed the release until that time to give the news more time to circulate and to provide the chance for more cameras and reporters to cover the emotional moments of the prisoners' reunion with their families.
For the first time, Israel allowed journalists to accompany released prisoners from their jails to their hometowns, as a public relations gesture.
But the Palestinian Authority minister of security affairs, Mohamad Dahalan, stated on Wednesday that Israel "misleads international public opinion by releasing around 400 prisoners, most of them administrative detainees, out of the 6,000 political prisoners detained inside its jails."
The minister also criticized Israel's media coverage of the event, saying, "I hope that the whole world sees the fake message sent by Israel through its huge media coverage of the Palestinian prisoners' release on Wednesday."
Hamas representative Ismail Abu Shanab said that most of the released were either under administrative detention or were detained for criminal reasons, adding, "we will never accept Israel's tricks."
While pleased that prisoners have been released, many Palestinians are still not satisfied with the small number.
The issue of prisoners has always been one of the most important and sensitive ones for Palestinians. However, it was relegated to the sidelines during Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Several public and cultural activities have been held in solidarity with the prisoners, many of whom spent years in jail without ever being put on trial, with some even being deprived of visits and medical care.
Palestinians complain that even after several months of negotiations, and the implementation of a number of security arrangements to reinstate confidence between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel still refuses to give the prisoner issue the consideration it requires.
The latest reports reveal that more than 6,500 prisoners are still inside Israeli jails and detention camps, among them a number of women and children, and some 700 have been held for more than 15 years. And more are coming.
"The Israelis wanted to refill the jails that were partially emptied hours ago," said Abdallah Abu Eidah, father of a prisoner who was supposed to be freed but later learned that his son would remain in jail.
Recent reports revealed that Israel has been arresting more Palestinians than it released on Wednesday; most of them were neither accused nor charged, but were detained during Israeli army raids or at military roadblocks.
Israeli army reports have also shown that most were taken into custody in Palestinian areas that were to be fully under the Palestinian Authority security control, referred to in the Oslo agreement as area A.
According to Israeli army reports, around 200 Palestinians have been detained since the declaration of the truce a month ago -- and none of them have been put on trial.
Palestinian officials, however, have announced they accept the idea of scheduling the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails according to a timetable that both Israel and the Palestinians decide on in reaching a permanent peace agreement.
Meanwhile, at the Erez checkpoint, two hours have passed, and finally, an Israeli soldier allows the bus to cross. Prisoners and their families are reunited, breaking into tears and sometimes bursting into laughter.
But even as they hug and kiss at the reunion, the Israeli Army is still arresting other Palestinians.
(Saud Abu Ramadan reported from Gaza and Lynda Wafi from the West Bank.)
