Israel has freed 73 Palestinian prisoners in what it called a gesture to a US-backed peace plan under threat with a ceasefire fraying and Israel hunting militants.
Israeli buses delivered the prisoners to checkpoints in the West Bank and Gaza Strip where they were released after a three-day delay caused by two Palestinian suicide bombings.
But Palestinian officials dismissed the release as a sham, for the 73 had been jailed for petty crimes such as theft rather than militant activity. They were due to be freed soon, and Israeli troops arrested more militants in overnight raids.
The Israeli army said it arrested nine suspected militants in West Bank raids overnight. In Qalqilya, witnesses said Israeli gunfire gravely wounded a Palestinian bystander during a raid. An army spokesman said troops shot a gunman who fired at them.
Israel says it has the right to conduct such operations until Palestinian authorities start disarming and breaking up militant groups, a key requirement of the road map. They have hesitated to do so, citing fears of civil war.
There is no reference to prisoner releases in the "road map" peace plan which calls for reciprocal moves toward a Palestinian state by 2005 in the West Bank and Gaza. But the road map draws in part on a 2001 plan under which Israel was to free prisoners who have "no association with terrorist activities".
A Prison Service spokeswoman said the 73 were convicted of minor offences such as car theft or illegal entry into Israel. A first batch of 330 prisoners was freed on August 6, including some militants but none held for roles in violence.
Many of 6,000 Palestinians held in Israel were rounded up for alleged militant activity and are seen by the Palestinian public as heroes of their cause. Palestinian officials want all prisoners freed to boost popular support for the road map.
Leaders of militant groups that began an uprising in 2000 derided Friday's release, like that of August 6th.