The expected release of 87 Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jail on Monday may not go through as planned due to last minute disagreement, Israel's media reported.
Eighty-seven Palestinian security prisoners are still at Ktziot prison after their release has been delayed, apparently due to last minute disagreements, Israeli local Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The report said that the Palestinian prisoners are scheduled to be freed early Monday, the decision was made after the Israeli cabinet approved last week as a Ramadan goodwill gesture to Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
The reason for the delay is still unclear, the report added, stressing that the Israel Prison Service noted the delay was not caused by problems in the release process.
The planned prisoner release is set to come ahead of formal talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams aimed at drawing up a joint document for next month's U.S.-hosted Middle East peace meeting.
Earlier Sunday, President Shimon Peres pardoned 26 of the prisoners. The prisoners were sentenced in Israeli civil courts and their release required the president's pardon. The release of the remaining 61 prisoners hinges on a special pardon by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) command chiefs because they were sentenced by military courts.
The High Court of Justice rejected Sunday evening a petition filed by the Almagor Terror Victims Association to issue an injunction against the release of the prisoners. The groups claimed that the release constituted a "grave danger to the Israeli citizens."
After the High Court decision was made public, Almagor appealed to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz in a bid to block the prisoner release.
Next Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will host Abbas at his residence in Jerusalem. The meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was pushed off a day for what officials in the Prime Minister's Office described as technical reasons.
Source: Xinhua
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