New Palestinian Prisoner Release from Zionist Jails

Local Editor

"Israel" prepared Sunday to free 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of talks brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is due back in the region to boost the faltering negotiations.

The release of the third tranche of 26 Palestinian prisoners "should come on Monday night after the 48-hour delay given for appeals from victims' families to the supreme court," an official in "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

In the past, "Israel's" supreme court has turned down all appeals against the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu's government gave the green light on Saturday for the latest tranche of prisoners to be freed.

All of the released prisoners have served sentences of 19-28 years.

To the fury of the Palestinians, the two previous prisoner releases were accompanied by announcements of new settlement plans for Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds.

"Israeli" media reports suggested Netanyahu was likely to unveil plans to build an additional 1,400 settling units.

At a meeting of his right-wing Likud party last week, Netanyahu was defiant in the face of the EU and US pressure for a freeze while talks continue.
"We will not stop, even for a moment, building our country and becoming stronger, and developing ... the settlement enterprise," he said.

The latest prisoner release comes as Kerry prepares to begin a fresh tour of the region on New Year's Day to try to push the talks forward.
It will be his 10th trip to the Zionist entity and the occupied West Bank since March, with his most recent visit earlier this month.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team