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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel agrees to free two killers |
| 2008-08-19 |
| Two Palestinians jailed for their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis are among 199 prisoners to be released by the Israeli authorities. Said al-Attaba and Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Ali, imprisoned for more than 25 years, will be freed as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel rarely releases those convicted of killing its citizens. Several senior Israeli politicians have criticised the move, saying Israel had received nothing in return. Israeli media said al-Attaba, 56, has been serving a life sentence since 1977 for the death of an Israeli woman in an attack. Muhammad Abu Ali, known as Abu Ali Yatta, was reportedly jailed in 1980 for killing an Israeli reservist in Hebron, and is also said to have killed a Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israel. The office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert released a statement saying: "This is a gesture and a trust-building move aimed at bolstering the moderates in the Palestinian Authority and the peace process." 'Conveying weakness' The Palestinian Authority welcomed the move, and called for more prisoners to be freed. But there was a chorus of dissent from Israeli politicians, including Shaul Mofaz, one of the contenders to succeed Mr Olmert when he steps down next month. "When Israel frees prisoners to weak elements without demanding anything in return, they remain weak," he said. "This is a decision conveying weakness and an acceptance of the existing situation." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 And this gets them...what? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-19 13:02 |