Israel Deputy Defense Minister Danon: Peace talks going nowhere, Palestinians only want terrorists freed - The Palestinian Authority's minister of prisoners' affairs warned Israel Thursday against backtracking on its past commitment to free the fourth and final group of prisoners as part of the US-brokered peace talks, a move which will prove key in deciding whether the talks, resumed in July after a three-year hiatus, unravel or not. Under the deal relaunching the peace negotiations, Israel said it would release 104 Arab prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo Accords in exchange for the Palestinians not pressing their statehood claims via the UN. Israel has so far freed 78 prisoners but there are growing fears Netanyahu's cabinet may block the final release, particularly that of Israeli Arab terrorists. As the release nears, victims of terror attacks have been mounting pressuring against the government in a bid to force it to backtrack on the release. According to Ma'an, Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe said in a statement that the release was crucial for any future progress in the peace talks and served as a test of Israel's reliability in the peace process. "Israel has been playing an ugly game of blackmail ... using Palestinian prisoners as a pressure tool to obtain political gains, which we completely reject," Ma'an quoted Qaraqe as saying. Qaraqe said that he holds Israel responsible for the consequences of not releasing the prisoners on time, warning of the "anger" in the Palestinian street. Qaraqe, Ma'an reported, added that if Israel did not release all prisoners it committed to, the Palestinian Authority would have no choice but to turn to international bodies for recognition. He further noted that the prisoners set to be released had expressed their support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his resolve and determination to secure their release. Israel has already freed three groups of veteran prisoners as part of a trust-building measure in ongoing peace talks, and are due to release a fourth group in April. Israeli officials have hinted that release of the fourth group might be conditional on Abbas agreeing to extend talks beyond their end of April deadline, but Abbas has been reluctant to do so, citing ongoing settlement construction and a lack of progress in talks. * Deputy Defense Minister Danon: Peace talks going nowhere, Palestinians only want terrorists freed -Following a report that the release of a group of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails would not go ahead this weekend, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) slammed the Palestinians for failing to make concessions in the peace process and for only being interested in releasing terrorists. "It is clear to all sides that the negotiations are leading nowhere and it good that the Palestinians understand that Israel will not make it concessions without receiving anything in return," Danon said. "The true face of the Palestinians was revealed when they declared that their sole aim was to free terrorists," he added. Israel has reportedly informed the Palestinian Authority that it will not release a fourth and final batch of prisoners expected to be freed as part of peace negotiations, a Palestinian official said Friday. "The Israeli government has informed us through the American mediator that it will not abide with its commitment to release the fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 29," AFP quoted Fatah official Jibril Rajoub as saying. Rajoub charged that "Israel has refused to commit to the names that were agreed upon of prisoners held by Israel since before the 1993 Oslo agreements". As a gesture for resuming diplomatic negotiations in July, Israel said it would free 104 Palestinian terrorists convicted before the 1993 Oslo accords. In exchange, the Palestinians pledged to halt their diplomatic efforts to seek full recognitions a member state in the United Nations. "Not releasing the prisoners will mark the beginning of the efforts in the international community to challenge the legality of the occupation," stressed Rajoub, who also serves as the chairman of the Palestinian Football Association. Israel has so far release 78 long-serving Palestinian prisoners. Jerusalem would have needed to publicly release on Wednesday the names of the terrorists it planned to free to allow for a 48-hour appeals period - not including Shabbat - ahead of a Saturday night release. The Fatah official slammed Israel's said refusal to release the 26 remaining prisoners as a "slap in the face of the US administration and its efforts". The Israeli government had no immediate response to the report. http://ift.tt/1o7UNos Photos: One of previous prisoner release and Israelis protests against further release of terrorists



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PA warns of 'Palestinian anger' should Israel fail to free Palestinian prisoners/terrosists

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