Israel PM urges inmate release
Coalition govt split over pact to free Palestinians
‘‘This is not an easy moment for me and is not easy for the ministers in the government and is especially difficult for the bereaved families,’’ Mr Netanyahu said at the beginning of the meeting.
‘‘But there are moments where I need to make tough decisions for the good of the country and this is one of those moments.
‘‘I believe that resuming the political process at this time is important for Israel. Every agreement reached in negotiations will be determined in a referendum. It is important that in fateful decisions like these every citizen will vote directly in matters that determine the future of the state.’’
Mr Netanyahu’s decision to fasttrack the referendum bill has triggered contradictory speculation.
Some say this shows the lifelong hawk is serious about a deal this time and wants to silence opposition by ultra-nationalists in his Likud party and his coalition from the outset.
Others suspect he is trying to create new obstacles to any agreement.
US Secretary of State John Kerry shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for months seeking a breakthrough and announced last week during his sixth visit to the region that the sides were willing to meet to discuss renewing talks.
Preliminary talks are set to begin tomorrow in Washington — followed by nine months of talks in the region on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The Palestinians long refused to return to the negotiating table unless Israel agreed to several preconditions.
Israel frequently called for talks to resume without preconditions, insisting that all core issues should be resolved through dialogue.
At issue is a longtime Palestinian demand that prisoners who were arrested before the start of the socalled Oslo talks on interim peace deals in the early 1990s be freed.
After decades of conflict the fate of the prisoners is emotionally charged.
Most Palestinians see the prisoners as heroes. Most Israelis view them as cold-blooded terrorists.
Kadoura Fares, head of a Palestinian advocacy group for prisoners, told Israel Radio that the Palestinian president had agreed for them to be released in batches starting in September but Mr Fares warned that ‘‘there will no negotiations unless they are all released’’.
Israel says one of those set for release threw a firebomb into a car in 1987, burning a pregnant woman to death and injuring several children, one of whom later died of his wounds.
Others were involved in deadly shooting and bombing attacks.
Hundreds of relatives of those killed by the prisoners protested the release outside parliament before the vote. Families held pictures of slain loved ones and chanted: ‘‘Terrorists must not be freed.’’
Mr Netanyahu’s major coalition partner Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home Party was at the rally.
‘‘Whoever demands the killers of women and children to be freed are not worthy to be called a partner,’’ he said referring to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
‘‘We have nothing to negotiate with he who praises the killers of women and children,’’ Mr Bennett said.
He said his party will vote against the release.