GAZA CITY, 6 February 2005 — The Palestinians pressed for concessions from Israel on the release of prisoners yesterday just three days before a potentially breakthrough summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The two sides were to hold fresh talks on the issue yesterday evening, the head of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas’s office said.
“The release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel is very important for the Palestinian people, for the relaunch of the peace process and for Fatah,” said Tayeb Abdel Rahim, referring to Abbas’s dominant faction.
Israeli ministers have backed the release of 900 of the 8,000 Palestinian prisoners, with a first batch of 500 expected to be freed soon after Tuesday’s summit.
But the Palestinians have expressed disappointment at the number earmarked for release and Israel’s refusal to coordinate over the choice of prisoners to be freed or the criteria used in selecting them.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina demanded concessions from Israel but said he expected a compromise to be reached in time for the landmark meeting between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
“We are...demanding the liberation of 8,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and hope to be able to sort out the differences in this respect in 48 hours,” he said.
Israeli public radio said top Sharon adviser Dov Weisglass was to travel to Cairo today in a bid to establish common ground between the two sides ahead of the meeting.
Abu Rudeina confirmed that the goal of the summit was an agreed truce between the two sides. “We intend to work so that a mutual cease-fire can be declared between the Palestinians and Israelis at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit,” he said.
Abbas was holding talks with leaders of his dominant Fatah faction yesterday “to discuss the summit, political and security questions and the results of contacts with Israel,” Abu Rudeina said.
Abbas has publicly called for an end to the armed struggle against Israel while seeking to seal a cease-fire by militant groups, earning praise for his security clampdown from leading Israeli officials.
“All our security officials believe important changes have taken place within the Palestinian Authority because it’s the first time a Palestinian leader opposes terrorism,” Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told public radio. “It’s now up to them to prove that they are capable of implementing what they promised.”
Despite the burgeoning sense of optimism, comments by Sharon late Friday underlined the fragility of the emerging rapprochement between the two sides.
“The Palestinian side hasn’t done a thing except to deploy its forces in Gaza before taking significant steps in the war on terror,” Sharon said in a telephone conversation with his Norwegian counterpart Kjell Magne Bondevik.
On the ground, Palestinian security forces moved against a leftist militant group suspected of involvement in a grenade attack on Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, arresting three of its leaders.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine protested strongly against the detentions and called for the support of other militant factions.
“These were political arrests which run counter to national unity and follow pressure from the United States and Israel,” the group charged. “We demand the release of our comrades.”
The Palestinian leadership has deployed more than 4,000 security personnel across the Gaza Strip with orders to prevent attacks by militant groups which are supposed to be observing an informal “cooling down” period amid the efforts for a mutual cease-fire.
Israel handed over the bodies of two Palestinians killed by its troops near the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun on Friday evening.
