They streamed off buses and into the arms of their families at five checkpoints across the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the biggest prisoner release in nearly a decade.

The freedom was part of the deal agreed by Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, at their summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The releases will help to underpin Mr Abbas’s position, since he will be able to point to concrete concessions from Israel as he works to maintain the ceasefire that is being observed by Palestinian militants.

Mazen Khalil Madani refused to give into the unheeded joy of the moment. The 29-year-old, who served three years of a 42-month sentence in an Israeli jail convicted of being a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, instead chose to focus on the future.

Mr Madani, welcomed by his 27-year-old fiancée, Noura Khalil, a lawyer in Jerusalem, said that he looked forward to having children and enjoying a new and peaceful life.

However, despite signing a pledge not to engage in violence, a condition of his release as one of 500 prisoners set free, he said that he reserved the right to fight on if Israel failed to match Palestinian demands.

“I certainly don’t think I’ll abide by it,” he said. “It’s just a meaningless piece of paper. But if the Israelis maintain the ceasefire, we will, too. I’ll be married, have children and make my father a happy man.”

In the midst of the jubilation, there was some sadness for the estimated 8,000 Palestinians still held in Israeli jails, especially since many of those freed left siblings behind in cells with little hope of early freedom if they were convicted of violence against Israelis.

Faadi Matar, 24, grasped his two-year-old niece, Roaa, from the window of the coach that carried him on the last leg of his journey to the heart of Tulkarem. Yet even as he beamed at the welcome from scores of friends and family waving Palestinian flags, he could not shake the image of the twin brother he had left behind, who was sentenced to 24 years in jail late last year.

Moments later in his family home, Mr Matar, an al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades member who was arrested and sentenced to six years for shooting at an Israeli checkpoint, expressed his joy at being freed and hoped the new moves would extend to his brother, Shaadi.

“It’s an indescribable feeling for me after being inside for three years,” he said. “Those of us in jail are greatly moved by this gesture. Now we need to see those who are serving life sentences, the elderly, the women and especially the minors coming out, too. All the prisoners are for the ceasefire and support Abu Mazen’s (Mr Abbas’s) efforts for peace and a new era.”

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