Thousands of Palestinians celebrated the release Sunday night of 550 inmates from Israeli prisons, part of the second phase of the deal that won the freedom of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The revelry in the Mukataa compound in Ramallah -- the long-timehome to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- ran late into the night. Tayeb Abdel Rahim, general-secretary in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office, was among those officials greeting the line of freed prisoners, as they all paid their respects at Arafat's grave. Hamas' armed wing, the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, welcomed the news even as they, like Rahim and other Palestinian leaders, continued to push for the release of others in Israeli custody.
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The release of 550 Palestinian prisoners has been "completed," Israel's military says
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Thousands of Palestinians welcome the release, celebrating late into the night
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Clashes break out at West Bank crossing ahead of the release, 20 injured
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The prisoner exchange began in October, with the release of 477 Palestinians
It all follows a deal, signed between @placeholder and Hamas in October, that won Shalit's release from Hamas in exchange for allowing more than 1,000 Palestinians to leave Israeli jails.