Abbas rejoices over release of murderer
Mahmoud Abbas, PA Chairman, announced during the prisoners' welcoming ceremony:
"This is a day when our heart rejoices... to see one of the greatest icons of our struggle, a man who has spent decades in prison - our brother Abu Ali Yatta."
Note: In August, 2008, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two highest-profile prisoners among this group were Said Al-Ataba, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977 for planning and carrying out terror attacks, and Abu Ali Yatta, a senior member of Fatah serving two life sentences, incarcerated since 1980. Yatta was elected to the Palestinian Parliament while he was in prison.
"This is a day when our heart rejoices... to see one of the greatest icons of our struggle, a man who has spent decades in prison - our brother Abu Ali Yatta."
Note: In August, 2008, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two highest-profile prisoners among this group were Said Al-Ataba, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977 for planning and carrying out terror attacks, and Abu Ali Yatta, a senior member of Fatah serving two life sentences, incarcerated since 1980. Yatta was elected to the Palestinian Parliament while he was in prison.