Israel started to free 159 Palestinian prisoners on Monday, most of them serving the final months of their sentences, in a step described by Israeli cabinet as a "gesture" to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and to the new Palestinian leadership.
Buses carrying prisoners left "Ketziot" prison in southern Israel for the West Bank border, witnesses said. The release includes 113 prisoners convicted of "security offences" and 46 held for illegally entering Israel, reports said.
The Palestinian prisoners were moved from "Ketziot" to three West Bank checkpoints, from which buses took them to drop-off points near their homes in the West Bank.
