Jerusalem denies plans to release Palestinian prisoners
‘Washington sources’ were said to have claimed Netanyahu is prepared to release 40 detainees with blood on their hands as goodwill gesture
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleHaviv Rettig Gur is The Times of Israel's senior analyst.
The Prime Minister’s Office vehemently denied on Thursday reports Israel was considering releasing 40 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture aimed at encouraging Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to return to peace talks.
The Maariv newspaper had reported, based on “sources in Washington,” that Netanyahu “was willing to release 40 Palestinian prisoners with blood on their hands… even without any Palestinian commitment to return to the negotiating table.”
The US and Israel had already sent word of the impending release, slated to take place in the coming weeks, to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli daily reported.
Some of the prisoners reportedly under consideration for release had murdered Israelis, but all were classified by the Shin Bet as not dangerous due to sickness or old age.
“The report has no basis in reality,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Bureau told The Times of Israel. The official requested anonymity.
The official declined to say whether the US had ever made such a request of Netanyahu.
According to the report, the goal of the release would have been to coax Abbas to the negotiating table, or, failing that, to demonstrate to the US administration that it was Abbas, not Netanyahu, who was avoiding peace talks.
Last month, The Times of Israel revealed that Netanyahu last year offered to release 50 pre-Oslo Accords prisoners to try to help get talks restarted, but Abbas rejected the offer.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has visited Israel five times in four months in a whirlwind effort to restart negotiations that have been stalled since 2009. He is expected to return to the region a sixth time in the coming weeks.
The Times of Israel Community.