- Title: VARIOUS: PALESTINIAN OFFICIAL DENOUNCES ISRAEL ATTITUDE TO PALESTINIAN PRISIONERS
- Date: 29th May 2005
- Summary: (BN10) GAZA (MAY 29, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE HELD BY MEMBER OF THE PALESTINIAN MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE FOR PRISONERS AFFAIRS, SUFIAN ABU ZAYDEH, IN REACTION TO THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DECISION TO RELEASE FOUR HUNDRED PALESTINIAN PRISONERS 0.06 2. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ABU ZAYDEH SAYING: "We've made it clear to the Israeli side ov
- Embargoed: 13th June 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: GAZA/KZIOT, ISRAEL/TARKUMIA CHECKPOINT, WEST BANK
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Reuters ID: LVAEPIXV0SD8Z7I4XTNJUQXIJIDT
- Story Text: Palestinian official denounces Israeli attitude of
treating Palestinian prisioners as terrorists.
Israel's cabinet on Sunday (May 29) approved the
release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, part of
understandings reached with President Mahmoud Abbas in
February, when the two sides declared a truce, a government
official said.
Israel freed 500 prisoners on Feb. 21 after the truce
was announced but suspended the promised release of 400
more, citing Palestinian inaction in disarming militants.
An Israeli government official said the committee had
met recently and set general criteria on eligibility for
release. He said there were no plans for another session
before the prisoners leave jail, probably on Wednesday or
Thursday.
At the cabinet session, Sharon said none of the
prisoners slated for release "had blood on his hands", a
reference to participation in attacks that caused Israeli
casualties.
A government official said the cabinet voted 18-3 in
favour of the decision to let them go.
Sufian Abu Zaydeh, a member of the Palestinian
ministerial committee for prisoners affairs, emphasized the
significance of the prisoner issue in the eyes of the
Palestinian public.
"We've made it clear to the Israeli side over and over
again that the prisoners issue for the Palestinian people,
leadership and the different factions is a central and
principal issue and we will not allow it to be ignored,"
Abu Zaydeh told reporters during a news conference in Gaza
city.
He said Palestininian prisoners should not be treated
as terrorists. "We will not allow these detainees to be
treated as if they were terrorists, whose aim was just to
kill Israelis. They were arrested for the role they took in
the Palestinian national struggle and their resistance to
the occupation. They are part of this unfortunate bloody
conflict, to which we, the Palestinian Authority are trying
to find a long lasting solution for, and we are also trying
to stop the cycle of violence".
The release of prisoners is intended to boost Abbas's
popularity among the Palestinian public, who see the 8,000
brethren held in Israeli jails as fighters for freedom from
occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
The names of the 400 inmates must first be published
under Israeli law on a Prisons Authority Internet site to
enable anyone opposed to their release to file a judicial
appeal.
The announcement was widely seen in Israel as an
attempt to head off complaints by Abbas, at White House
talks he held last Thursday with U.S. President George W.
Bush, that Sharon was hindering his efforts to promote
peace.
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