Region | Palestinian Territories
Olmert pledges to release another 150 Palestinians
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday pledged in a summit meeting to free more than 150 Palestinian prisoners by the end of August as a "goodwill gesture" to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
- AP
- Published: 00:07 August 7, 2008
- A released Palestinian prisoner is greeted by relatives outside a crossing between Israel and the occupied West Bank near the West Bank town of Tulkarem on Wednesday.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday pledged in a summit meeting to free more than 150 Palestinian prisoners by the end of August as a "goodwill gesture" to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Announcing the pledge after a meeting between the two leaders, Olmert spokesman Mark Regev did not say how many prisoners were to be freed or if jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti would be among them.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who took part in the meeting at Olmert's official residence said it was agreed that over 150 prisoners would be freed, on August 25.
Erekat said Abbas specifically requested the release of Marwan Barghouti, jailed for life by Israel for involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis and Ahmad Sa'adat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who is in an Israeli prison after his group claimed responsibility for assassinating an Israeli cabinet minister.
An Israeli official said Olmert refused to commit to those names.
Past exceptions
Israel has repeatedly refused to release Barghouti, seen by many as a natural successor to Abbas, citing its long-held principle of not freeing prisoners with "blood on their hands," those directly involved in fatal attacks.
However it has made exceptions in the past, the latest just three weeks ago when it released Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar, as part of a trade with the Hezbollah movement.
Kantar had been convicted of killing an Israeli father, his daughter and a policeman. Four captured Hezbollah fighters were also freed in the July trade for the bodies of two slain Israeli soldiers.
The concluding phase of the deal took place yesterday, when Israel released five Palestinian teenagers from jail and sent them home to the West Bank.
By insisting on the release of at least some Palestinians, Hezbollah sought to bolster its standing beyond its core following of Shiites to the broader Arab world.
Israel sought to minimise the concession by selecting five youths serving short sentences for throwing stones and other objects. They were due to be freed next year, according to data posted on the Prisons Authority website.
Wednesday's meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders was the first since Olmert announced he would step down after his party selects a new leader in September.
Olmert's decision to leave office in the face of a string of corruption investigations into his past dealings as a cabinet minister and occupied Jerusalem mayor raised questions about prospects for Mideast peace. Even before his announcement last week, the sides had been backing away from their stated goal of signing a peace accord by year's end.
However Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said after the talks with Abbas that the sides were still striving to meet the target they set at last November's US-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
"We're committed to moving forward, we're committed to making the Annapolis process work," he said. "I expect these meetings to continue."
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