Prisoner release to separate Palestinian brothers

By Haitham Tamimi

DURA, West Bank, July 19 (Reuters) - Palestinian brothers Bilal and Khalid Amr were inseparable since they were children, joined the same militant group as young adults and spent the past year together in the same Israeli prison cell.

But only Bilal, 29, is set to be allowed home in a mass prisoner release Israel is expected to carry out on Friday as part of a series of moves to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas Islamists.

"I don't think we have complete happiness -- we can't celebrate Bilal's release while his brother is still in prison," said Rema, Khalid's older sister. "We want to see Bilal but we still miss Khalid."

Bilal is one of 256 Palestinian prisoners set to be freed as part of the prisoner release. Khalid, 37, has nine years left to serve in jail.

The mother of the brothers, Fatima, 70, said they were close growing up. Eager to fight Israel, Khalid was the first to join the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group, which is part of Abbas's Fatah faction. Bilal soon followed in his footsteps.

SAME CELL

Israel arrested the brothers separately due to their membership of al-Aqsa Martyrs, which has carried out hundreds of attacks against Israelis. The group was ordered to lay down its weapons and join Abbas's security services earlier this month.

When Bilal arrived at an Israeli prison, he was put in the same cell as Khalid. Bilal has spent the past 20 months there and was supposed to have been freed in 19 months.

"I was sad that both of them went to jail, but I felt happy because they were together," Fatima said.

The Amr family, which lives in the village of Dura, near the West Bank city of Hebron, has started preparing for Bilal's homecoming. They put pictures on the walls and bought chocolates and sweet to celebrate.

"I have mixed feelings -- am I pleased or depressed?" said Fatima.

Khalid's wife, 27-year-old Inass, who lives with the family, said she was trying her best to hide her sadness to not spoil the moment for Bilal, saying: "I was happy to hear of Bilal's release but ... my husband is still in the jail".