KITSIYOT, Israel, July 20 (Reuters) - Israel began releasing dozens of Palestinian prisoners on Friday as part of a U.S.- backed deal to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following the takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas Islamists.

Some of the 250 or so prisoners, mostly members of Abbas's secular Fatah faction, boarded buses outside Kitsiyot prison in southern Israel. From there they will be driven to the West Bank city of Ramallah to be greeted by Abbas and reunited with families.

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