Israelis seethe over Palestinian prisoner release ahead of peace talks
The release of 26 Palestinian prisoners and the approval of West Bank settlement expansions has both Israelis and Palestinians crying foul.
The release of 26 Palestinian prisoners and the approval of West Bank settlement expansions has both Israelis and Palestinians crying foul.
鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
A day after stirring harsh rebuke from Palestinians over the greenlighting of further settlement construction in Palestinian territory, the Israeli government angered many Israelis when it announced the names of 26 Palestinian prisoners to be released on Wednesday as part of the US-backed deal to relaunch peace talks.
The Financial Times reports that the prisoners' release 鈥� the first of 104 Palestinians Israel agreed in principle to free as part of the peace talks 鈥� is highly unpopular among the Israeli public聽because聽most of those being set free were convicted of the murder of Israelis or were suspected Palestinian collaborators.
The prisoners' names were announced early to provide a 48-hour window for those opposed to their release to file appeals to Israel's High Court. But Reuters notes that "based on past decisions, the court is widely expected not to intervene."
The Israeli furor over the prisoners' release comes less than 24 hours after a similarly negative reaction from Palestinians in response to Israel's statement Sunday that it would allow construction of some 1,200 homes in West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements to move forward. Palestinians say that the move is an attempt to undermine the peace talks before they start.
"Approving such a massive number of housing units three days before we go to negotiations is sick,鈥欌�� a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told 海角大神. "We may not come" to the talks, he said.
But the Monitor also reports that some say the move was necessary to allow peace talks to proceed, by "mollify[ing] Mr. Netanyahu鈥檚 pro-settler constituency, which is upset over the renewed talks" and the prisoner releases.
Some Palestinians also see the move as an Israeli tactic to undermine Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and force him to step away from the negotiating table 鈥� thereby making the Palestinians seem like the side opposed to peace.
In an analysis for Haaretz, Barak Ravid writes that the Israeli government's contradictory responses to the peace talks stem from Netanyahu's unwillingness to "cross the Rubicon" and commit fully to them.