Sheera Frenkel in Ramallah
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Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners yesterday in a gesture aimed at bolstering the moderate Palestinian leadership, hours before the US Secretary of State arrived in the region for the next round of peace talks.
One of the freed men, Said al-Atta-ba, 57, had been in jail for 32 years. He was the longest-serving inmate held by Israel and is seen widely by Palestinians as a symbol of the 9,000 of their countrymen held in Israeli prisons.
In her 24-hour visit, Condoleezza Rice will try to silence doubts voiced recently by senior Palestinians and Israelis over the likelihood of a US-sponsored peace deal coming to fruition this year. “We continue to have the same goal, which is to reach agreement by the end of the year,” Dr Rice said on her arrival. “[There is] a lot of work ahead to do that and obviously it’s a complicated time, but it’s always complicated out here.”
Progress towards a peace deal has been hampered by uncertainty over the political futures of the Israeli and Palestinian leadership.
While Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, continues to confront low poll ratings and the sustained popularity of Hamas, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, will step down next month amid corruption charges and one of the lowest approval ratings in Israeli political history.
A US official involved in the talks said that progress was made with the release, in which Israel made the rare decision to free two men with “blood on their hands” — those who participated in attacks that harmed Israelis.
Israelis appeared divided over the prison release, which some feared would weaken Israel’s ability to negotiate for Gilad Schalit, the kidnapped soldier who has been held in the Gaza Strip for two years. Even among Palestinians, opinion was divided. Edwan Sadaka, 37, from Ramallah, said: “It depends on what the Israelis demand in exchange. I am suspicious of any Israeli gesture . . . there is always a price to pay.”
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It is sad to sit here and argue about a situation like this. The Jews took over a country with the help of Britain and America and caused hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees. That is the cause of everything. You can't tell me that any of you would stand for that without a fight.
Nihaya , Palm Beach ,
I can't understand how a society expects impoverished people, beaten down and embarrased from the like of Israeli soldiers and settlers to actually recognize a state that has bulldozed their homes, restricted water & electricity & killed their children.
Nihaya , Palm Beach ,
with the exclusion of fossil fuels, the entire arab worlds (apprx 23 countries) GNP is about the same as Norway. What a contribution
shelly, nyc,
The only solution to this kind of chronic problem is DIPLOMACY. War can never be the cure to a divided state which occupants tend to stand for their RIGHT, RELIGION, CULTURE and Belief. Historically EGYPT is not ARAB, BABYLON (IRAQ) is not ARAB and ISRAEL is not ARAB. But its the race not religion.
Malcohm, Iligan City, Philippines
You speak out against Jews living in their tiny historical homeland, but are silent about Arabs occupying huge regions and brutally oppressing millions of Kurds, Fur, Armenians, etc. Do you seek justice for all people or are you just traditional anti-Semites?
Dave, Baltimore, USA
Frank, USA
Isnt it sad...Palestinians have been paying the price for jewish and christian fairy tales for the past sixty years now. FREE PALESTINE!
Frank, Detroit, USA
Free the 700 Palestinian women and children rotting away in Israeli prisons! Many are there for throwing a stone at a tank or waving a flag. Time for Israel to start acting like a true democracy.
John Grosvenor, Portland, Oregon, USA
"Jayil - Gaza has only itself to blame. Once Hamas recognises Israel and stops the terrorism..."
Sir, it is not possible to "recognize" a country which does not have a clear border defined. The reason why Israel the "Jewish state" does not define it's border is because they wish to keep expanding
jayil, london, uk
C Bozner, London
Palestinian Jews are most welcome like Palestinian Muslims and Christians. Illegal immigrant Zionists who caused our region catastrophic disasters for sixty years have no place in Palestine. They must go back to wherever they came from. Y to peace n justice, N to war n aggression.
saleh darwish, Amman, Jordan
So how many of the illegally detained Palestinian prisoners have blood on their hands? Apparently very few, but that wont stop them being tortured by their nice Israeli hosts.
Phil Ishmael, Liverpool,
Saleh - the only real apartheid in the area is in the PA and your country Jordan where no Jews are allowed to live.
Jayil - Gaza has only itself to blame. Once Hamas recognises Israel and stops the terrorism, then Gaza will become 'normal' again.
You need to fix your own houses first.
C Bozner, London,
Jayil, there are two borders with gaza, the other is controlled by Egypt... what are they doing to help their brothers?
tony, UK, uk
The whole of Gaza strip is one big prison captured by Israel.
jayil, london, uk
Does Mark Regev know how many Zionists are guilty of murdering innocent Palestinian civilians? How many leaders in the Zionist regime avoid traveling to the free world? Soon, no one will be able to defend the crime committed in Palestine.
Remember South Africa?
Y to peace , N to war n aggression.
saleh darwish, Amman, Jordan