Netanyahu pushes for release of 104 Palestinians ahead of peace talks

July 28th, 2013

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Palestinians hold portraits of relatives jailed in Israeli prisons as they protest to demand for their release during a demonstration to mark the Prisoners' Day outside Damascus gate, in the old city of Jerusalem (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)

Israel’s PM is persuading his cabinet to “take a painful decision” to authorize the liberation of 104 Palestinian prisoners, some jailed for over 20 years, in order to promote peace talks with the Palestine Authority after five years of stalemate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his Facebook
followers on Saturday, urging support for his plan to release
Palestinians serving long prison terms gradually, including those
sentenced for attacking and killing Israelis. “An open letter to
the citizens of Israel” was also published on PM’s website.

“From time to time prime ministers are called on to make
decisions that go against public opinion — when the matter is
important for the country,” Netanyahu wrote, stressing that
the decision he made “is painful for the bereaved families, it
is painful for the entire nation, and it is also very painful for
me.”

“This conclusion will be possible only on condition that the
security of Israeli citizens and our vital national interests
will be ensured,” Israeli PM promised.

Palestinians gather to commemorate Prisoners' Day in Nablus (AFP Photo/Jaafar Ashtiyeh)

Thus, the release of prisoners would be interlinked with the
results of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to start which
are to start in Washington on Tuesday.

No identities of Palestinian prisoners that might be included in
the amnesty have been made public.

On Sunday Israeli cabinet is expected to vote on the PM’s
proposal. Netanyahu has already secured support on the issue from
10 ministers of his cabinet, reports Haaretz.

“The goal here is to augment the political dialogue with
confidence-building measures,” an unidentified Israeli
official told the New York Times. The source shared that the
cabinet is likely to approve the releases.

A Palestinian woman sits at Saraya prison that had been used by Israeli security services to keep Palestinian prisoners during Israel's occupation of Gaza Strip (Reuters/Suhaib Salem)

“This is the biggest achievement we will have had this
year,” an anonymous Palestinian official involved in
negotiations told the NYT.

Netanyahu will have to use all of the persuasion he’s got to make
Israelis believe that what he’s doing is right and serves the
common cause. Families of Israelis killed by Palestinians over
the last 30 years are not likely to take it lightly if the
perpetrators are set free.

In their turn, Palestinians consider their compatriots convicted
before the 1993, when the Oslo Peace Accords were signed, as
political prisoners that should have been released long time ago.

Israel’s dramatic shift comes quite unexpectedly, with experts
wondering if this the final effect of pressure
from Brussels and
Washington which has been mounting to push Israel towards
negotiation table.

A Palestinian youth visits prison cells in Gaza City that had been used by Israeli security services to keep Palestinian prisoners during Israel's occupation of Gaza Strip (Reuters/Suhaib Salem)

The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been organized by the US and
Secretary of State John Kerry has put great effort into make it
happen. For Kerry, in office for six months now, a resumption of
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations reflects on his performance, and
PM Netanyahu must have found out that dealing with the new
secretary is not the same as doing business with Hillary Clinton.

“There is no alternative. It is also difficult for me,”
Netanyahu told one of the ministers, according to Haaretz. “We
must renew the peace process.”

Israel is used to freeing Palestinians from prisons only in
exchange for kidnapped soldiers or the return of their bodies.
The last great exchange took place in October 2011 during PM
Netanyahu’s previous term, when 1,027 Palestinians were exchanged
for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive in Gaza
for five years.

Young Palestinians hold portraits of Samer Issawi, a Palestinian prisoner who is on a long-term hunger strike, during a rally to ask for his release in the West Bank village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)