Palestinian crowd frees militants from Bethlehem jail
January 27, 2002, 05:02 PM
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP) - A crowd of more than 100 Palestinians, shouting and cheering, succeeded in releasing seven militants from jail in Bethlehem, including one the men most wanted by Israel.
The crowd released the men from the West Bank town's jail after all but a skeleton crew had left the building, anticipating retaliatory strikes from Israel after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed one Israeli and injured at least 37 others in west Jerusalem.
The seven released included Yahya Daamsa, a member of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group.
Daamsa is one of 33 militants on Israel's most wanted list handed to the Palestinian Authority for immediate arrest during US peace envoy Anthony Zinni's November-December visit to the region, Palestinian security sources said.
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