Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Israel frees Palestinian inmates before talks. 26 prisoners freed overnight, as part of deal to enable resumption of peace talks, arrive in Ramallah and Gaza.


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Israel has released 26 Palestinian prisoners on the eve of renewed Middle East peace negotiations.
Buses carrying the inmates, most of whom were held for attacks on Israeli citizens, left Ayalon prison in the centre of the country late on Tuesday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greeted the 11 Palestinian prisoners sent to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, while jubilant crowds met the other 15 in the Gaza Strip.

Israelis and Palestinians are set to relaunch talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, following a preparatory round two weeks ago in Washington.
The prisoner release is part of an agreement to restart the talks after a five-year freeze.
The 26 inmates are the first of a total of 104 that Israel has promised to free within a year as part of a deal secured after months of shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has visited the region six times since March.
But Palestinian rights groups say that, upon close inspection, the deal is not the concession the Israelis are touting it to be.
Most of the detainees released on Tuesday have already served 20 years behind bars.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Ramallah, said some of the prisoners had written to President Abbas and said that they did not want to be used as a bargaining chip in the talks.


Israeli protests

Disdain for the Palestinian prisoners is strong in Israel, where media have featured detailed accounts of their attacks on Israelis since a release roster was published two days ago. Palestinians, however, regard the men as heroes in a struggle for statehood.

A small gathering of Israelis demonstrated outside the prison during the release. The protesters included family members of Israeli prisoners calling for the release of their relatives rather than the Palestinian inmates.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Kerry called the Israeli prime minister to discuss settlement approvals Israel had announced earlier in the day. Palestinian officials have said that these announcements "threatened" talks with Israel.
Israel approved more than 900 new illegal settlement units near the Palestinian town of Beit Jala in occupied East Jerusalem, in addition to 1,200 settlement homes approved two days ago.
"At the end of the day, I think people realise that the prisoners were detained precisely because they wanted to stop Israeli control over Palestine," said Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst.
"So it's ironic that they are releasing [the prisoners] while they continue settlements."
http://www.aljazeera.com
14/8/13
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9 comments:

  1. Palestinian negotiators suspend talks with Israel after deadly raid: official...

    RAMALLAH, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian negotiators suspended a peace talk session with their Israeli counterparts scheduled on Monday in protest at the death of three Palestinians in an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah in early morning, a local official said.

    Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, told Xinhua that the negotiations, which was slated to take place in the West Bank city of Jericho, was canceled "due to the Israeli aggression" in Qalandiya refugee camp.

    Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians and wounded 20 others during clashes with residents of Qalandya refugee camp in northern Ramallah on early Monday morning. The residents hurled rocks and empty bottles to the Israeli forces, while the latter responded with live ammunition, a witness told Xinhua.

    "The Israeli escalation against our people is unjustifiable and it aims at thwarting the political efforts to strengthen the negotiations," Abed Rabbo said.

    Meanwhile, a source close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian leadership has sent "a stern protest" to the U.S. administration who sponsored the peace talks, urging Washington to intervene and blame Israel for "violating the negotiations."

    The resumption of the talks came after nearly a three-year halt. The canceled meeting in Jericho is the fourth official session of negotiations between the two sides since their resumption in July.
    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-08/26/c_132664516.htm
    26/8/13

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ministers approves release of 26 pre-Oslo Palestinian prisoners...

    A ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday approved the list of the second group of 26 Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of Israel's commitment to the Palestinian Authority as a measure for ongoing peace negotiations.

    The names of the pre-Oslo prisoners were expected to be published later Sunday night.

    In August, Israel released the first 26 of 104 prisoners.
    http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Ministers-approves-release-of-26-pre-Oslo-Palestinian-prisoners-329868
    27/10/13

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Απελευθέρωση 26 Παλαιστίνιων κρατουμένων...

      Την απελευθέρωση 26 Παλαιστίνιων κρατουμένων αποφάσισε η κυβέρνηση του Ισραήλ την Κυριακή, στο πλαίσιο συμφωνίας που επετεύχθη με τη μεσολάβηση των ΗΠΑ για την επανέναρξη των ειρηνευτικών συνομιλιών.

      Σε ανακοίνωση του γραφείου του Ισραηλινού πρωθυπουργού Μπενιαμίν Νετανιάχου αναφέρεται ότι θα απελευθερωθούν 26 κρατούμενοι που είχαν φυλακιστεί για πράξεις βίας.

      Συνολικά, το Ισραήλ είχε ανακοινώσει τον Αύγουστο ότι θα απελευθερώσει 104 κρατουμένους σε τέσσερις «δόσεις».
      http://www.zougla.gr/kosmos/article/apelef8erosi-26-palestinion-kratoumenon
      27/10/13

      Delete
    2. High Court rejects application against release of Palestinian prisoners...

      The High Court rejected the application by the Almagor Terror Victims Association on Tuesday evening against the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners.

      The prisoners are being released as part of a deal that was made in July to kick-start the peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

      The High Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction on the matter and that two prior applications that challenged the government's decision were similarly rejected.

      Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said Tuesday "The images of the freed killers tonight will be engraved on the memories of the future generation of terrorists who will also dream of returning home as heroes." Danon was speaking at a conference in Beit Shemesh.
      http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/High-Court-rejects-application-against-release-of-Palestinian-prisoners-330098
      29/10/13

      Delete
  3. Les Palestiniens refusent de négocier tant que la colonisation continue...

    Les Palestiniens refusent de poursuivre les négociations avec Israël tant que la colonisation continue, a déclaré mardi à l'AFP un haut responsable palestinien sous couvert de l'anonymat.

    "La partie israélienne est déterminée à continuer la colonisation et nous ne pouvons pas poursuivre les négociations sous cette offensive sans précédent dans les colonies", a affirmé ce responsable à l'issue d'une session de négociations très houleuse entre Palestiniens et Israéliens à Jérusalem.

    "Les négociations palestino-israéliennes ont capoté pendant la session de mardi soir", a ajouté la même source au moment même où le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry arrivait à Jérusalem pour tenter de relancer le processus de paix en difficulté.

    John

    Kerry doit rencontrer mercredi le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu à Jérusalem, puis le président palestinien Mahmoud Abbas à Bethléem, en Cisjordanie.
    http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_les-palestiniens-refusent-de-negocier-avec-israel-tant-que-la-colonisation-continue?id=8129291
    5/11/13

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kerry reaffirms: US sees settlements as 'illegitimate' ...

    AFP - US Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed on Wednesday Washington's rejection of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories as "illegitimate."

    "We consider now, and have always considered, the settlements to be illegitimate," Kerry said, after talks in Bethlehem with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas focused on shoring up the peace negotiations.

    "I want to make it extremely clear that at no time did the Palestinians in any way agree, as a matter of going back to the talks, that they could somehow condone or accept the settlements," Kerry said.

    "That is not to say that they weren't aware -- or we weren't aware -- that there would be construction," he added.

    His remarks related to a bitter row that has erupted over Israeli moves during the past week to push ahead with construction of more than 3,700 new settler homes.

    Several Israeli officials have claimed the settlement announcements were in keeping with tacit "understandings" between the two sides linked to the release last week of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners.

    Their comments sparked furious denials from the Palestinians.

    "The Palestinians believe the settlements are illegal. The United Sates continue to believe the settlements are not helpful," Kerry said.

    A previous round of direct talks collapsed in September 2010 in an acrimonious row over settlements, with the Palestinians refusing to negotiate while Israel builds on land they want for a future state.

    After six months of shuttle diplomacy, Kerry managed to coax the two sides back to the table in late July.

    But already tempers are fraying, once again over Israeli construction on land seized during the 1967 Six Day War.
    http://www.france24.com/en/20131106-kerry-reaffirms-us-sees-settlements-illegitimate
    6/11/13

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arab foreign ministers to hold emergency meeting on Palestine....

    The Arab League will hold an emergency foreign ministers' meeting on December 21 at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Ahmed Ben Helli, assistant league secretary-general, said Thursday.

    Abbas requested the meeting in order to "discuss developments in the Palestinian file and the progress of ongoing talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides," Ben Helli told reporters.

    Turkish media say that the initiative coincides with the Middle East tour of the US Secretary of State.

    John Kerry is due to arrive in the region later on Thursday for another round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

    Last week, Kerry met separately with both Abbas and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Washington's top diplomat, talks focused on security arrangements and recent progress in the negotiations.

    Palestinian-Israeli talks hit a snag following the Jewish state's announcement in mid-November that it planned to build a host of new Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.
    Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_13/Arab-foreign-ministers-to-hold-emergency-meeting-on-Palestine-7814/
    13/12/13

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kerry, Netanyahu Meet in Latest US Push for Peace...

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Friday, as part of a U.S. effort to secure a Mideast peace deal by April.

    Kerry, who met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah late Thursday, said he looks forward to advancing the goals of peace and security in the region.

    "It's been constructive. It's always complicated, but I look forward to having some good talks this morning. After meeting with President Abbas last night, we have a lot to talk about and we will continue this process."

    Speaking anonymously, U.S. officials say Kerry is pushing for a partial, framework agreement, fearing a final status deal may not be reachable by the end of the ninth-month negotiating period.

    Both the Palestinian and Israeli sides have expressed dissatisfaction with U.S. ideas on ending the conflict. But last week, Kerry said they they were closer to an agreement than they have been in years.

    Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have yet to agree on issues such as security, borders for a future Palestinian state, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem.

    Israel and the Palestinians re-opened the U.S.-brokered talks in late July, and agreed to continue meeting for nine months.
    http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-netanyahu-meet-in-latest-us-push-for-peace/1809442.html
    13/12/13

    ReplyDelete
  7. Palestinians call on USA to stop new Israeli settlements construction....

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the US to dissuade Israel from its plan to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements. The construction project is to be announced next week upon the release of a group of Palestinian prisoners.

    The plans for expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank were confirmed by an Israeli official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. According to him, 600 homes are to be built in Ramat Shlomo, a settlement annexed to Jerusalem in a move unrecognized internationally. 800 more are to appear in several other West Bank settlements, which Israel also plans to keep in any future peace deal.

    Israel will once again repeat the practice of accompanying Palestinian prisoners’ release with increasing construction activity in the Jewish settlements to appease Israeli hardliners.

    It did so when it released two previous groups of long-serving prisoners under the agreement struck last summer. Next week the third of the overall four groups is to be released. That amounts to 26 Palestinian prisoners.

    Mahmoud Abbas asked US envoy for Israeli-Palestinian talks, Martin Indyk, for “US intervention to stop the Israeli government from issuing new settlement decisions, in order to save the peace process and the American efforts," top

    Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Thursday, as cited by AP. ............http://rt.com/news/israel-announce-new-settlements-866/
    27/12/13

    ReplyDelete

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