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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel released about 550 Palestinian prisoners Sunday night in the second half of a swap that freed one of its soldiers, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who had been held by Hamas in Gaza for more than five years.
The prisoners left Israel’s Ofer Prison by bus shortly after 10 p.m., with a dozen buses going to the West Bank and one to Gaza. At the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah, music blared and hundreds of people waved flags, waiting for the buses.
Youths threw stones at Israeli troops at a checkpoint as the release began. The soldiers responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. There were more than a dozen injuries reported among the Palestinians and one soldier hurt.
