Israel has called off the planned release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, placing already embattled peace talks in further jeopardy after both sides took steps Washington called “unhelpful.”
Israel’s chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, told her Palestinian counterparts on Thursday the planned releases could not go ahead because the Palestinians had formally requested accession to several international treaties, a source close to the talks said.
The Israelis saw this as a breach of conditions agreed for a resumption of US-brokered peace talks in July last year, the source said.
Photo: Reuters
As news of the cancelation broke, Palestinians in Gaza fired four rockets into southern Israel, prompting retaliatory air strikes early yesterday by Israel.
No casualties were reported on either side.
A frustrated US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday demanded that recalcitrant Israeli and Palestinian politicians demonstrate leadership in the peace process.
The talks hit a new impasse when Israel failed to free the prisoners as expected at the weekend.
In response, the Palestinians formally requested accession to several international treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which provides the legal basis for Palestinian opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.
The source said Livni had told the Palestinian negotiators that her government had been seeking to expedite the releases at the moment the Palestinians submitted their accession request to UN bodies.
Livni urged them to cancel the applications and return to talks, the source said.
However, the Palestinians insisted that the basis for future talks must change.
“Israel has a habit of evading agreements and conventions it has signed,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo, general secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee.
“That is why conditions for future negotiations must change radically,” he added, without elaborating.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Israel’s decision had put further strains on peace efforts.
“The decision by the Israelis to delay the release of the fourth tranche of prisoners creates challenges,” Carney said in Washington.
However, Carney said that Kerry and the US negotiating team would not be deterred in trying to keep the peace effort alive despite recent setbacks.
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