Itongadol.- Twenty-six Palestinian prisoners held in Israel from before the Oslo Accords, are due to be released on Monday in the context of the peace negotiations with the Palestinians. It will be the third group of prisoners released since the resumption of peace talks last July.
Responding to the publication of the list of prisoners to be released, officials of the Palestinian Prisoner Society said on Sunday that the number of veteran prisoners in Israel is 107 and not 104 as stated by Israel. The society also demanded that 32 prisoners be included in the fourth round of prisoner releases, which is due to take place in April.
Comparing the Palestinian Authority and Israeli lists, it seems that there are three more prisoners than originally listed. One is Naim Shumri, who was arrested in 1995 and is considered to be seriously ill, prompting the PA to request his release without connection to the talks. The other two are Said Alarabli from Gaza, who was arrested in July 1994, and Said H’tatba of Nablus, who was arrested in September 1994. Shumri is due to be released on Monday, but the society called on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to add the three prisoners to the Palestinian list, so that the Alaragli and H’tatba would be released in the next round.
As in the two previous stages, the West Bank prisoners will be brought to the Bitounia checkpoint near Ramallah, while the three prisoners from Gaza will be delivered to the Erez Crossing. The West Bank prisoners will attend a ceremony with Abbas at the government compound in Ranallah before returning to their homes. The Gaza prisoners are also expected to attend celebrations at Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society maintains that the first round of releases included Burhan Sabih, who wasn’t on the Palestinian list since he was arrested in 2001, when he served as an officer at the Preventive Security Force. Therefore, a total of 107 prisoners should be released.
Jawad Bulus, head of the society’s legal department told Haaretz that as far as the Palestinians are concerned, the number of prisoners isn’t important, but rather the principle that they should be freed. Bulus said that immediately after the celebrations, all efforts will be focused on the fourth and final round, which will include prisoners who are Israeli citizens, as well as those who were convicted of carrying out attacks that resulted in the largest numbers of casualties.
“We have made the Palestinian position on this issue clear ot the Americans. The agreement should be implemented and any attempt to postpone releases or change the terms of the agreement might lead to unrest in the prisons and Palestinian public,” Bulus said.
The issue is expected to be raised in the talks Abbas will hold with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Ramallah on the weekend. According to Palestinian records, there will still be 32 veteran prisoners in Israeli jails after the current round of releases. Of those, 17 are from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 14 are Israeli citizens and one is a Jerusalem resident.
Of the Israeli citizens, the most prominent are Karim and Maher Yunis, both of whom are beginning their 31st year in prison and are considered the longest serving Palestinian prisoners. The two, residents of Kfar Ara, were convicted of the murder of the soldier Avraham Brumberg in 1980. Their uncle, Sammy Yunis, who was the oldest and longest-serving prisoner, was released in the Gilad Shalit deal. In July 2012, a parole committee recommended that their sentences be commuted to between 35 and 40 years.
The list includes another five Israeli citizens arrested between 1986 and 1988.