JERUSALEM, 30 May 2005 — The Israeli government yesterday approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners and declared itself ready to allow the United States to mediate a coordinated pullout from Gaza with the Palestinians.
Cabinet ministers approved the releases by majority vote, nearly four months after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to free 900 detainees as part of a series of goodwill gestures at a Middle East summit.
Senior Palestinians slammed what they saw as an insufficient, unilateral decision. “Israel has strong criticism of the Palestinian Authority over implementing arrangements agreed during the Sharm El-Sheikh summit ... but we must strengthen the moderate elements within the Palestinian Authority and respect our commitments,” said Sharon.
He stressed that none of the 400 set for release later this week would “have blood on their hands” — in other words had been involved in anti-Israeli attacks. Israel released 500 prisoners soon after the February summit between Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas but had frozen the second batch following a Feb. 25 suicide attack.
Those 400 will now be freed Wednesday or Thursday, a spokeswoman for the prisons authority said. The list is to be published on the Internet to allow the public to appeal against individual releases.
The Palestinians, who have been pushing for the releases to be extended to include long-term prisoners convicted of taking part in deadly attacks, expressed disappointment. “This decision is not enough,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP. Prisoners minister Sufian Abu Zaydeh slammed a move that made “nonsense” of a joint Israeli-Palestinian prisoners committee set up at the peace summit.
Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in less than 24 hours in the occupied West Bank, following an attempted knife attack against an Israeli soldier near the southern city Hebron and a shootout near Jenin, in the north. Another three militants died in the occupied Gaza Strip yesterday when planned attacks backfired in premature explosions.
