RAMALLAH: Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, days before US Secretary of State John Kerry was due back in the Middle East to press the two sides to reach a framework peace deal.

Israel agreed to release a total of 104 Palestinian prisoners as part of a US-brokered package that in July revived peace talks after a three-year break. Tuesday’s release was the third of four groups to go free.

Jailed before or just after the first Israeli-Palestinian interim peace accord was signed 20 years ago, the inmates boarded buses for home outside Ofer prison in the West Bank as Israelis protested in East Jerusalem against the amnesty.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greeted the men at his headquarters in Ramallah. “We promise you this will not be the last time and there will be more groups of heroes coming to us frequently in the near future, God willing,” Abbas said.