Palestinian Minister of Prisoners' Affairs said on Monday the release of 87 Palestinian prisoners was a unilateral Israeli decision and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has no role in the process.
"We received the official list of prisoners just yesterday," Minister Ahsraf al-Ajrami told Voice of Palestine radio, saying " We have not intervened in this issue at all."
Israel started to free the West Bank prisoners and postponed the release of the 28 Gaza prisoners for Tuesday due to technical matters that prevented Israeli President Shimon Peres from signing on their release order.
"President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded the release of old, women and children from the prisons but Israel neglected these demands," al-Ajrami added.
But the delay to release Gaza prisoners has sparked fears among the Palestinians.
Abu Mujahed, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees ( PRC) told reporters in Gaza that "the postponement was meant to boost the split between Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
"This decision is like a slap on the face of the Palestinian negotiator who promotes this step as a victory," Abu Mujahed added.
Source: Xinhua
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