Israel has reportedly offered to release an additional 400 Palestinian prisoners as a sign of goodwill towards the Palestinian Authority in order to entice the Palestinians to agree to extend peace talks for another six months.
According to Palestinian sources involved in the peace talks, the offer is backed by the United States, who is attempting to save talks from total collapse.
Israel has delayed releasing the fourth and last installment of 26 Palestinian terrorists from prison due to the lack of guarantee by PA President Mahmoud Abbas that he would continue negotiations once the prisoners were released.
Abbas has in turn announced that he would not consider extending talks until the prisoners are released by Israel. The Al-Ayyam newspaper cited Palestinian sources close to the negotiations as saying that Abbas is insisting that Israel release the fourth batch of prisoners as a precondition to any future deliberations.
At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the additional 400 Palestinian prisoners would not be released without Israel receiving something of value in return.
“In any case, there won’t be any deal without receiving something of clear value [in return],” the prime minster stated.
Netanyahu said that within the next few days, the issue “will be closed or it will blow up” and made clear that no decisions would be made without governmental approval.
Sunday morning, the A-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the release of prisoners would not lead the PA to take immediate states to further peace negotiations. The sources confirmed that the PA does not want to appear responsible for failed peace talks, saying “the leadership does not want to enter immediate conflict and appear responsible for the breakdown of the negotiation process.”
Under the new offer, Israel would determine which 400 prisoners would go free. There has been no confirmation of the new offer by Israel but Israeli politicians are already reacting to the proposal.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) took to his Facebook page to comment on the report.
“As soon as Shabbat ended I started receiving hundreds of calls about the reported deal of releasing 400 prisoners in exchange for continued negotiations. Let me be clear: That will not happen,” he wrote.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) said, “If this is true, I will recommend that we leave the coalition.”
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) told Israel Radio on Saturday night that he was opposed to the release of terrorists from prison. He said that the process of releasing the fourth installment of Palestinians from prison should be stopped immediately “since there hasn’t been any forward movement in the peace process.”
Reports on Saturday stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that his coalition would fall apart should Israel free the last batch of terrorists.
On Friday, PA officials informed American mediator Martin Indyk that Israel was not releasing the last batch of terrorists. PA official Jibril Rajoub said that blocking the release was a “slap in the face of the U.S. administration and its efforts.”
Fatah officials Hazen Abu Shanab told the Ma’an news agency that Israel would immensely regret its decision to not release the prisoners. He called on the international community to hold Israel responsible for failed peace talks.
“The release of prisoners is a legitimate, lawful, and human right. Their freedom should not be linked to concessions regarding extending or continuing the diplomatic process,” Abu Shanab said.
Responding to reports on the prisoner release, U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday night: “In regard to reports this evening on an agreement on the release of prisoners, no deal has been arrived at, and we continue to work intensively with both sides. Any claims to the contrary are inaccurate.”
