Israel Is Set To Free 256 Fatah Prisoners Today

WASHINGTON — Israel is scheduled to release 256 Fatah prisoners on Friday as a gesture of good faith in anticipation of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, expected to take place later this year.The release has sparked concerns among some Israelis because the prisoners scheduled to be freed include those believed to have attacked Israeli civilians. The Almagor Terror Victims Association petitioned Israel’s supreme court on Wednesday for an injunction stopping the prisoner release. It was declined.The director of pardons for the Israeli Justice Ministry, Emi Palmor, was quoted in the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday as saying the courts have always deferred to the government on such matters, and that none of the prisoners has been involved in deadly attacks on Israelis. But she added that it was likely that 17% of the prisoners released will return to terrorism.The prisoner release has not abated the Israel Defense Force efforts against terrorism. Raids continued in the West Bank, the Palestinian Arab territory still controlled by Mr. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen. His Fatah Party was ousted from Gaza last month by a Hamas coup.A member of Knesset, Effie Eitam, said in an interview this week, “We don’t have to strengthen Abu Mazen, we have to strengthen Israel. What people understand better now is the nature and the kind of threat we are standing in front of. They are inspired by the Iranians, who are rushing towards a nuclear bomb,” he added, referring to Hamas.Mr. Eitam, a member of the religious Zionist bloc, in the past has opposed Prime Minister Olmert’s efforts to reconcile with Mr. Abbas. He said yesterday that the prisoner release and goodwill gestures to the Fatah Party had wide support.Fatah spokesmen said yesterday that the prison terms of many of the prisoners set for release would expire soon anyway. They cited the case of one such prisoner, Muhammad Jaradat, sentenced to 20 years in jail in 1989, who would have been released in September 2009.

Israel Is Set To Free 256 Fatah Prisoners Today

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