The oldest Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail was released on Monday after serving a 17-year sentence for arms smuggling, an advocacy group and his son said, AFP reported. Fuad Shubaki, 83, was released from Ashkelon prison and is “on his way to Ramallah” in the occupied West Bank, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said, which was confirmed by Shubaki’s son Hazem. As Shubaki arrived in Ramallah at the tomb of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, to whom he was a close ally, Palestinian officials jostled to get close to the octogenarian draped in a Palestinian keffiyeh. Young children waved the flag of the Fatah movement, while women proudly sported t-shirts with the face of a young Shubaki printed on them. Among the crowd was Mahmoud Aloul, vice president of the Fatah movement, and TawfiqTirawi — two figures often described as possible successors to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. After praying at Arafat’s tomb, Shubaki vowed to continue the “resistance” of the late Palestinian leader. “We will go on the path Yasser Arafat drew for us, we will carry on his resistance no matter what it costs, our lives are worthless when it comes to our homeland, our … Continue reading Oldest Palestinian prisoner released after 17 years