The Israeli government approved on Sunday the release of some 400 Palestinian prisoners, as it committed to do in its Sharm A-Sheikh talks with the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in February.
It has been announced that among those prisoners to be released there are none who murdered Israelis. Most of the prisoners expected to be released are from the Fatah movement, led by P.A. Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas. Others are from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror movements.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recommended recently that prisoner release should take place as soon as possible, so that ‘Abbas will be able to prove to the Palestinians that the Tahdia (calm) agreement is worthwhile.
The Israeli government is not united in regard to this move. Minister Danny Naveh said it will be a grave mistake to release 400 terrorists at a time when the Palestinians continue in their attempts to execute terrorist attacks.
On Friday the IDF arrested 19-year-old Palestinian, Tha’ir Abu ‘Asab, caught wearing an explosive belt at a military checkpoint in Nablus. And in another incident over the weekend, an explosion occurred in Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip, killing one Hamas operative. The IDF said it did not operate in the area, and military officials assume this explosion was caused by mishandling of an explosive device installed by Hamas.