Sunday, August 11, 2013

Top Stories - Google News: Israel approves release of 26 Palestinian prisoners - BBC News

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Israel approves release of 26 Palestinian prisoners - BBC News
Aug 11th 2013, 22:29

11 August 2013 Last updated at 17:20 ET

Relatives of the victims of Palestinian militant attack protest against the proposed release of 26 Palestinian prisoners outside the Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem (11 August 2013)Victims' relatives protested outside Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday

Israel's government has approved the release of 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners, as part of a deal which will see peace talks resume next week.

A list of names chosen by a ministerial committee will be published overnight.

The prisoners will be freed on Tuesday. The delay allows time for last-minute legal challenges by victims' families.

The announcement came after Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to sabotage the peace talks by approving nearly 1,200 new settlement homes.

An Israeli government spokesman dismissed the criticism, saying every peace initiative so far had proposed that the settlements in question become Israeli territory. The Palestinians are willing to accept land swaps.

About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Protest

On Sunday evening, a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that 26 prisoners would be released.

They would be freed at least 48 hours after a list of their names was published by the Israeli Prison Service, which would happen once the families of their victims had been informed, it added.

Fourteen of the prisoners will be returned to the Gaza Strip and 12 to the West Bank. Eight were due to be released in the next three years, two of them in the next six months.

The decision was made after a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon and including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Science Minister Yaakov Perry, as well as the heads of the Israeli Prison Service and the Shin Bet security service.

The committee was due to be chaired by Mr Netanyahu, but he was instead recovering from overnight emergency surgery to repair a hernia.

"During the discussion it was emphasised that if one of those released will return to engage in hostile activity against Israel, he will be returned to complete his sentence," the statement said.

Earlier on Sunday, a small group of victims' relatives protested against the releases outside the Israeli Supreme Court. Some smeared themselves with red paint to symbolise blood on the prisoners' hands.

Last month, the Israeli cabinet approved the release of a total of 104 Palestinian prisoners over the coming months as part of efforts to restart direct peace negotiations after a three-year hiatus.

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