Israel takes mixed moves ahead of talks with Palestine

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Israel takes mixed moves ahead of talks with Palestine

(Xinhua) 16:14, August 14, 2013

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JERUSALEM, Aug. 14 -- Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, a widely-recognized goodwill gesture to encourage the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks slated for Wednesday afternoon in east Jerusalem.

But analysts said the overture would be partly offset by Israel's approval of 942 housing units in east Jerusalem.

The Palestinian prisoners left the Ayalon prison in central Israel Tuesday evening and arrived in the West Bank City of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip early Wednesday.

Eleven of the freed from the West Bank were taken by bus to Bitunia checkpoint near Ramallah and the other 15 from Gaza were shuttled to Erez crossing point between Israel and Gaza.

Hundreds of family members of the prisoners gathered near the two destinations to meet their beloved ones, holding their posters and Palestinian flags.

These prisoners were charged with perpetrating deadly terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. The Israeli government approved on July 28 the release of 104 prisoners in several batches in the upcoming months.

The move came two days ahead of the U.S.-mediated restart of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks in Washington, after a three-year hiatus.

Also on Tuesday, however, Israel media reported that the Jerusalem Municipality approved the construction of 942 new housing units in Jewish settlements located in east Jerusalem.

A similar move had led to the halt of the peace talks in 2010.

The Palestinians have insisted that talks not be resumed before Israel halts settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

The current plan to expand the neighborhood of Gilo, in southeast Jerusalem, will push it further toward the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, to the ire of the Palestinians and the international community.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that without making significant progress in talks with the Palestinians, Israel would be facing boycott and an international de-legitimization campaign, the U.S.-based Bloomberg magazine reported on Tuesday.

On the eve of the talks, pessimistic and distrustful sentiments prevailed among Palestinians, especially given Israel's refusal to commit itself to stopping settlement building and recognizing the principle of the two-state solution based on 1967 borders.

Heba Tahan, a female employee with the Palestinian National Authority and resident of Ramallah, predicted a failure of the talks.

"These talks are obviously serving the interests of Israel only to abort the international pressure on it, while they will never serve the Palestinian interests," she said.

Hassan Habbas, a Ramallah-based worker, said the ongoing talks would be fruitless, as "it is just an extension to the previous failure which only gave Israel more time to expand settlements and keep its military occupation going on."

Noor Orief, a Gaza-based university academic, said the resumption of the talks without meeting the Palestinian demands showed the weakness of the Palestinian side and its disability to gain its requirements throughout the negotiations.

A public opinion poll showed Monday that the Palestinians are not that eager to talk with Israel. The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based think tank Arab World For Research and Development, revealed that only 46 percent of the surveyed youth support the resumption of the talks.

Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since June 2007, also opposed the resumption of the talks, saying "this gives Israel more space for continuing its crimes against our people."