BICOM

Twenty six Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons last night, following the decision by Israel’s cabinet to approve their release in order to pave the way for peace talks to resume today.

Last month, Israel’s cabinet approved the release of 104 prisoners in total, mostly convicted over twenty years ago and all of whom were involved in deadly attacks on Israelis. The twenty six released last night are the first of four groups to be freed over the coming nine months, dependent on the progress of peace talks. Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders had made the release a condition to attending preliminary talks in Washington earlier this month. The twenty six prisoners selected by an Israeli ministerial committee, are members of the Fatah faction of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, in an apparent attempt to strengthen Abbas’ domestic political position ahead of talks.

Fifteen of the prisoners were transported from Ayalon Prison near Tel Aviv to the Erez crossing from where they entered the Gaza Strip. The remaining eleven were handed over to PA officials and crossed the Beituna checkpoint into the West Bank. They were then taken to Ramallah, where they were greeted by Abbas and a crowd of around one thousand people according to Haaretz. Abbas vowed not to rest “until we free all the prisoners from Israeli jails.” Earlier in the day, Israel’s high court rejected a last-ditch appeal by relatives of victims killed by Palestinian terror attacks to block the release. Nonetheless, this morning’s headline in Yediot Ahronot reflected a sense of anguish among some Israelis, declaring “Murderers Go Free.”

Meanwhile, Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeineh yesterday announced that PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had agreed to form a new government, having resigned from his position just two months ago. Reuters reports that Hamdallah will be granted a free hand to select his cabinet after having previously clashed with Abbas over the scope of his powers.