وزير العلاقات الدولية والاستخبارات الاسرائيلي: اسرائيل ستفرج عن اسرى فلسطينيين
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اعلن وزير العلاقات الدولية والاستخبارات الاسرائيلي يوفال ستاينيتز اليوم السبت ان اسرائيل تستعد للافراج عن معتقلين فلسطينيين في سجونها في بادرة حسن نية غداة الاتفاق على تمهيد الطريق لاستئناف المفاوضات بين اسرائيل والفلسطينيين.
وقال الوزير الاسرائيلي "سيكون هناك افراج عن عدد محدود من المعتقلين" الفلسطينيين، بدون ان يوضح هذا العدد.
واوضح ان بعض هؤلاء الاسرى امضوا مددا تصل الى ثلاثين عاما في السجون الاسرائيلية.
ولم يذكر ستاينيتز متى سيتم الافراج عن هؤلاء الاسرى لكنه قال ان العملية ستجري "على مراحل".
واضاف "انها بلا شك بادرة قوية".
وكان وزير الخارجية الاميركي جون كيري انتزع بعد مفاوضات مكثفة الجمعة وفي ختام زيارته السادسة الى المنطقة، اتفاقا مبدئيا على استئناف مفاوضات السلام بين اسرائيل والفلسطينيين.
وقال كيري للصحافيين في مطار الملكة علياء الدولي (35 كلم جنوب عمان) قبل مغادرة المملكة عائدا الى واشنطن "يسرني ان اعلن اننا توصلنا الى اتفاق يضع الاسس لاستئناف مفاوضات الوضع النهائي بين الفلسطينيين والاسرائيليين".

Will they be rearrested when (not if) Abu Mazen or his representative walks out of the talks.
Israel should only release the prisoners one a day, and only whilst the talks are progressing.

"He said some of those to be freed have been in Israeli jails for up to 30 years."
'bout time they get to see their grandsons and granddaughters, if they weren't annihilated by the Israelis, that is. I think, more than anything, this only goes to further escalate the elucidation of Israeli atrocities.

-endless- Am I to understand that there are no criminals in jails in the Arab World who have been there for over 30 years? There are hundreds if not thousands of them, and even in Western Europe and the US there are plenty, so why make out that Israel should be different.

That most certainly is not what you are to understand, phillipo. What you are to understand is the unlawful, unpalatable affront to human life and dignity the Israelis have shown palestinians only too clearly. Their cultural aspects in regards to Palestinians and their right to land is one of denigration and debasement. They have violated numerous international laws regarding human rights and the rights of children. They've detained hundreds of thousands of palestinian men, women, and children, and hundreds -- indefinitely -- without any due trial or any explanation even.

Israel has every right to imprison those who pose a threat to the lives of citizens, but I cannot even theoretically see how children throwing rocks can be labeled terrorism. Do you think they still know what the word means anymore? Do you not doubt that perhaps they've become the monsters they themselves feared in the past? Physical, psychological torture, indefinite detention with no charge, expanding settlements into foreign land, bulldozing dozens of hundreds of homes and resettling thousands. What's more -- they see their devaluation of human life as justified, and shamelessly pat themselves on the back in agreement with one another ( e.g. "Rachel Corrie pancakes” etc. ). The abuse is seldom matched by other countries in such magnitude is all.

endless: I don't know details of "children throwing rocks" who are imprisoned. How many? what term? how old are the children? In any event, the prisoners discussed here are killers of civilians. Any government would imprison them for lengthy periods. Rachel Corrie layed down in front of a tractor. Her death was unintentional, in contrast to the over 30 killed in Iraq today.