Former Gaza Parliamentarian and Hamas Leader Freed From Israeli Prison

A prominent leader of the Islamist movement Hamas has been freed by Israel, in a move that came a year after he and hundreds of others were rounded up and arrested following the killing of three Israeli teenagers.

Israel has released eminent Hamas leader Hassan Yusef, who was arrested a year ago along with hundreds of others following the killing of three Israeli teenagers, media reports said.

According to Hamas, Yusef, who was elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006 while in Israeli custody, worked within Hamas' political wing.

"Occupation forces (Israel) on Thursday released Hassan Yusef after he was in administrative detention for an entire year," Hamas was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Israel's military officials, for their part, declined to comment on the matter.

Yusef was detained in June 2014 amid a round-up of hundreds of Hamas members in the West Bank.

The arrests were preceded by the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, which the Israeli government said was the work of Hamas. The incidents, along with the brutal revenge killing of a Palestinian boy in east Jerusalem in July 2014, sparked a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which left five Israeli non-combatants and more than 1,400 Palestinian civilians dead.

As for Yusef, he is known for having disowned his 36-year-old son, who earlier admitted to being a top informer for Israel's domestic security service under the codename "The Green Prince". The incident dated back to September 2000, amid the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israel.