July 9, 2012
PA minister: Abbas rejected Netanyahu’s offer to release prisoners for peace talks
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photos by Reuters
A Palestinian minister said on Monday evening that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected an offer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release security prisoners in exchange for the renewal of peace talks.
Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Qaraqe confirmed a Haaretz report that Netanyahu made an offer to release initially 25 Palestinian security prisoners convicted of murdering Israelis and the subsequent release of another 100 prisoners over four stages by the end of 2012.
Qaraqe said that Abbas rejected Netanyahu’s offer, demanding instead that the prisoners be released at once and not over various stages.
Read more at Haaretz.com.
