The government of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced overnight Sunday that it was proceeding with the second of four goodwill releases of Palestinian terrorism convicts, part of a package of concessions that Jerusalem is offering the Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to entice PA officials to continue engaging in U.S.-brokered peace talks.
The first round of releases had cost Netanyahu precious political capital, and criticism continued to mount in the aftermath as Palestinian diplomats met the concession by branding Israelis terrorists and hailing the released murderers as “political prisoners” and “freedom fighters.”
Support for the releases continued to deteriorate in subsequent weeks, amid an upsurge in Palestinian terror incitement and activity in the West Bank. The Palestinian Hamas faction conducted a campaign – reportedly directed from Turkey by Saleh al-Arouri, himself a previously freed prisoner – that saw the group try to launch spectacular terror attacks. Officials from Hamas’s rival Fatah were blasted for inciting a wave of terror attacks. Three Israelis have been killed in the violence, and a young girl was shot in front of her parents’ home.
The next round of releases is set to include a Palestinian terrorist who killed an Israeli reservist and Nazi death camp survivor. The Associated Press reported today that Netanyahu’s commitment to conducting the release, especially given previous Palestinian responses, is proving contentious:
Israel’s prime minister faced a political uproar from across the political spectrum on Monday over the planned release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, all according to authorities convicted on murder charges connected to deadly attacks on Israelis… The overnight announcement of the prisoner names triggered a storm of criticism… Israel has a long history of lopsided prisoner exchanges with its Arab adversaries. But this week’s release appeared especially charged because Israel is receiving little in return except for the opportunity to conduct negotiations that few people believe will be successful.
The AP also carried suggestions from domestic Netanyahu opponents theorizing that he was releasing prisoners in lieu of halting settlement construction. Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has derided the suggestion that the Palestinians would agree to such a deal, and Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, has flatly denied that such a deal exists.
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