GAZA CITY, 9 May 2005 — For the second time in two weeks Israel yesterday delivered a body blow to the Middle East peace process. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reneged on his pledge to free 400 Palestinian prisoners.
Palestinians reacted furiously to the move, saying it would only serve to undermine an ongoing truce, while Egypt warned that it was likely to weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel freed 500 jailed Palestinians on Feb. 21 as part of a pledge to release 900 prisoners in a goodwill gesture toward Abbas after the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
A senior Israeli government official said Sharon set new conditions for freeing the remainder of the prisoners, telling his Cabinet: “Let it be clear, there will be no prisoner release before steps are taken against terror.”
“Everyone asks me to strengthen Abu Mazen, but I tell them, not at the expense of Israeli lives,” Sharon, using Abbas’ popular name, was quoted by the official as saying.
“The Palestinians are doing nothing about this issue. It would be a mistake of the first order to make even the smallest concession on security. We cannot give them the opportunity to wage a continuous campaign of fire toward Jewish communities.”
The official said all prisoners would remain behind bars until the Palestinians cracked down on groups such as Hamas. “The prime minister has decided not to release the detainees for the moment as Abu Mazen (Abbas) has not taken any action to decapitate the terrorism which is continuing,” he said.
“When the Palestinians start to respect the commitments they made at Sharm El-Sheikh we’ll do something, but not before.”
The Israeli government decided last week to freeze plans to transfer security responsibility in parts of the West Bank, citing the same reasons. As part of the agreements reached at Sharm El-Sheikh, responsibility for security was meant to be transferred from the Israeli Army to the Palestinian Authority in five West Bank towns.
The transfer has happened so far in only two towns — Jericho and Tulkarm — with Israel claiming that the Palestinians have failed to keep their side of the deal by disarming militants who had previously been on the military’s wanted list.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sharon’s comments showed Israel had frozen the summit agreements. “It’s clear that the only thing that is not frozen is the continuation of settlement activities, the (West Bank) wall and non-compliance with a cessation of violence,” Erekat said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said he had relayed his concerns to the Middle East Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States — ahead of a planned meeting in Moscow today.
The failure to go ahead with the releases and security transfers “threatens the positive atmosphere which had reigned in the aftermath of the summit”, he warned.
— Additional input from agencies
