Israel Releases Fatah Prisoners
Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat praised Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s decision to release 250 Fatah prisoners for the Eid-Al-Adha Muslim holiday. The Israeli Cabinet voted 13-4 in favor of the release, enabling Olmert to keep a promose made recently to Palestinian Authority President Muhammad Abbas.
This much anticipated release was also appreciated by a Hamas official, who recalled that the prisoners were the result of Israel’s policy of “crime and terror.” Hamas followed with a statement asking for the release all Palestinian prisoners.
Apparently, the reason that Israel did not fear releasing the prisoners was because they were not on Hamas’s list of individuals they wish to be freed.
Some say the move is designed to strategically weaken Hamas, because families of Hamas prisoners will see Fatah prisoners go free and start to inquire why their family members are not being released.
Roopa Radhakrishnan
