Israel to release 200 Fatah prisoners

In the UK and international media today, most papers report that the Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture towards PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Several papers also note that Iran sent a dummy satellite into space on Sunday, raising fresh concerns that such technology could be diverted to ballistic missile use.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times carried an article on a report released by two Cambridge historians, John Bew and Martyn Frampton, which noted that the Northern Ireland peace process should not be used as a conflict resolution model in the Middle East.

In the Israeli press, most papers report on the Palestinian reaction to the announcement that Israel will release 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture towards PA Chairman Abbas. Haaretz and Ynetnews note that Hamas has slammed the decision calling the release a political ploy to strengthen Fatah and that prisoners from all the Palestinian factions should be released. Haaretz and Ynetnews note that the head of the Iranian air force said yesterday that the range of its warplanes has increased, which allows them to fly to Israel and back without refuelling. The Jerusalem Post notes that Head of the Middle East Military Balance, Yiftach Shapir, dismissed Iran's claim over the range of its jets saying that it does not signify any new operational abilities. Haaretz notes that two inspectors from the United Nations will arrive in Tehran today to follow up negotiation meetings over Iran's nuclear programme. The Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews report that Iran launched a test satellite into orbit yesterday raising concern among US intelligence and defence officials. In other news, Haaretz and Ynetnews report that a Qassam rocket was fired into the western Negev from Gaza yesterday despite a two-month old truce in place.

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