Israel to free 170 inmates in gesture of goodwill
Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Israel yesterday approved the release of 170 Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture towards Egypt and the new Palestinian leadership, officials said, but the move was denounced as cosmetic by at least one Palestinian official.
The prisoner release, ahead of the January 9 Palestinian presidential election, was part of a deal with Egypt this month that brought home an Israeli jailed by Cairo on espionage charges.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called the release a goodwill gesture and spoke of "deep friendship" for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Palestinian officials gave Sunday's announcement a cool reception. "We consider this step a cosmetic one. We have not been consulted about this release," said Radi Jaraie, Palestinian deputy minister of prisoner affairs.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, has rejected Mr Abbas' call for an end to the armed uprising or intifada. Al-Aqsa distributed leaflets criticising Mr Abbas' assertion last week that the armed uprising was a mistake and that Palestinians would have moved closer to their goals with non-violent methods.
In a joint statement with the extremist Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa said it would ignore Mr Abbas' call even though he was the nominal leader. "Calls by some Palestinians to stop the armed intifada are totally rejected," a spokesman said.
"Those statements are not binding on us. The blessed intifada will continue. No one, however senior or at whatever level - Palestinian, Arab or international - will be able to stop it."
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