BICOM

A report in the Times of Israel claims that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas turned down a proposal by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release fifty Palestinian prisoners who have been held since before the Oslo Accords on the 1990s in return for a resumption of peace talks.

Although the Prime Minister’s Office did not comment on the story, the report quoted an unnamed senior Palestinian official, a close aide to Abbas, who said that the offer was made last year in the framework of discussions between senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Netanyahu’s special envoy Yitzhak Molcho.

The proposal apparently involved the release of fifty prisoners, most of who were involved in the murder of Israelis. They were to be released in stages of twenty five prisoners, then fifteen and then ten, with the releases contingent on direct peace talks between Abbas and Netanyahu. However, Abbas is said to have rejected the plan, insisting that all 107 of the pre-Oslo prisoners must be freed. Apparently Abbas also insisted that even if this condition should be met, he would agree to meet Netanyahu only in order to make clear his terms for restarting peace negotiations.

Netanyahu has repeatedly communicated his desire to resume direct peace talks with Abbas. Last week he took to the Knesset podium and said, “We are in favour of starting negotiations immediately without preconditions.” Addressing Abbas directly, Netanyahu said “We need to sit down, make our various demands and try to reach real peace.” However, Abbas insists that before talks can take place, Israel must first freeze all settlement construction, agree to 1967 borders plus swaps, in addition to releasing pre-Oslo prisoners. US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit the region later this week as part of his concerted efforts to kick-start talks between the two sides.