Israel Weighs Appeasement
Charles Johnson
Fri Dec 29, 2006 at 6:40 pm PST • Views: 300
Huge political struggles are going on behind the scenes in Israel, judging by the rapid reversals on the issue of releasing Palestinian terrorists and their supporters from Israeli prisons: Israel won’t free Palestinian prisoners.
JERUSALEM - Israel rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ request for a quick release of prisoners to bolster nascent peace moves, saying Friday that Palestinian militants must first free a captured Israeli soldier.
The decision was a setback for the moderate Palestinian leader as he jockeyed with the radical Islamic Hamas group for popular support in the increasingly turbulent West Bank and Gaza. Abbas had hoped Israeli concessions would strengthen his argument that talks — not violence — are the Palestinians’ best hope for achieving a state.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, himself fighting low approval ratings, has sought in recent weeks to re-energize his government with a push to revive long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians.
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported Friday that Olmert was prepared to hold back-channel talks to resolve the intractable disputes that derailed previous peace efforts, including the final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin declined to comment on the report.
Frank says: