With the pending breakdown
of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations and increasing PA belligerence, Israel has
cancelled the agreement to release terrorists as scheduled on Saturday, March29th.
Atara
Beck, staff writer, United with Israel
Israel
has cancelled the scheduled release of 26 terrorists from prison on Saturday
night.
“The
Israeli government has informed us through the American mediator that it will
not abide with its commitment to release the fourth batch of Palestinian
prisoners scheduled for tomorrow,” senior PA official Jibril Rajoub told AFP
news service on Friday.
“Israel
has refused to commit to the names that were agreed upon of prisoners held by
Israel since before the 1993 Oslo agreements,” he said.
A
committee or five ministers, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was
to decide which prisoners should be freed. Their names would have had to be
made public at least 48 hours prior to the release, not including the Jewish
Sabbath, in order to provide time for appeals to the High Court of Justice.
The
originally scheduled release would have been the fourth and final stage in the
freeing of 104 terrorists as a gesture to encourage peace negotiations.
Over the
past several months, thousands of families of victims have been protesting the deal to release terrorists, many of whom have
resumed violence against civilians following their release.
PA
Central Committee Member Tawfiq Tirawi, as documented by Palestinian Media
Watch, stated this week on official PA TV that the negotiations are merely “one
of the methods of struggle. But the rifle is here, and it can burst forth at any moment.”
With the
lack of progress made in the negotiations or any meaningful concessions on the
Palestinian side. a growing number of Israeli government ministers have joined
the call to cancel Saturday’s prisoner release. Deputy Defense Minister Danny
Danon has threatened to resign if the terrorists are set free.
Abbas,
while adamant in his refusal to recognize the Jewish state – with the support
of the Arab League – has been demanding a construction freeze in
Judea and Samaria and the freeing of terrorists as a precondition for merely
continuing the talks.
The PA
head has been receiving the released prisoners with blood on their hands as
heroes.
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