Israel releases 26 Palestinian prisoners ahead of Kerry visit

Israel today released the third batch of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners under a US-brokered deal to push ahead faltering peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of Secretary of State John Kerry's tenth visit to the region.
Three of the prisoners released were from Gaza, eighteen from the West Bank and five from east Jerusalem.
They departed on buses from Israeli jails overnight and received hero's welcome on their return to the West Bank and Gaza, with jubilant relatives and officials lining up to greet them.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas waited at his headquarters in Ramallah to meet the released prisoners in the middle of the night.

"This is day of happiness for our nation, our families and our prisoners, the heroes, who have seen the light of freedom. We are guaranteeing that this won't be the last time that prisoners are freed," Abbas said.
He vowed that there will be no peace agreement with Israel if all Palestinian prisoners are not released.

"There won't be a final agreement with Israel until all the prisoners are released," Abbas asserted.
Meanwhile, members of the bereaved families that lost relatives under attacks from Palestinians protested the release by marching from Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence to the Old City home of one of the freed prisoners.

An Israeli High Court earlier rejected a petition by an organisation representing the bereaved families against the release.
The release came as Secretary of State Kerry planned a New Year's Day trip to push forward the peace process and find a lasting solution to decades-old conflict in the region.
This would be Kerry's tenth visit to the region since March. His last visit, a week-long trip, began on December 11.
This was the third batch of prisoners to be freed since August when Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinians in four phases to push ahead peace talks with the Palestinians that was resumed in July under US mediation after three years.

Other groups of prisoners have been freed on August 13 and October 30.
The Ministerial Committee for Prisoner Releases approved late on December 28 the release of the 26 Palestinians who were imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The prisoners had served sentences of between 19-28 years, the Prime Minister's Office said. They had been sentenced to life imprisonment and were convicted of murder or accessory to murder.