The Israeli occupation authorities on Tuesday evening released the Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Abu Jamous, 45, from the town of Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem, after spending 17 years in the Israeli jails.

Dozens of the relatives and friends of the prisoner Abu Jamous were waiting for his liberation from the Dhahiriya crossing, south of Hebron after he had finished his 17-year sentence, and then they headed to his town to set up the official reception for him.

The prisoner Abu Jamous was arrested on July 14, 2004, after an Israeli special force raided his house in the town of Abu Dis. He stayed in the investigation for a whole month, during which he was subjected to a harsh investigation about his “affiliation and activity in the ranks of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and participation in operations against the occupation.”

After rounds of investigation, the Occupation Court issued its final sentence of 17 years in prison, which he spent moving between prisons, the last of which was Raymond prison.