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Despite prisoner release, any Israeli settlement construction may end talks

Palestinian Authority Minister for Prisoner Affairs Issa Karake has declared that if Israel insists on more settlement construction following the latest prisoner release, the negotiations will be over.
Ahmad Khalaf  (4th R) looks on as a religious leader together with others release a dove outside the al-Aqsa mosque the day after he was released from an Israeli prison, in Jerusalem's old city December 31, 2013. Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners, on Tuesday, days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was due back in the Middle East to press the two sides to agree a framework peace deal.REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16Y77
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The third release of Palestinian prisoners was completed Dec. 31, and senior Palestinian Authority officials are counting the days to the fateful visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to Ramallah at the end of next week. The Palestinian Authority is concerned that Israel will announce additional construction in the settlements in the time between the prisoner release and Kerry’s visit. This pattern of announcing construction simultaneously with the release of prisoners is an old story to the Palestinians and has already threatened to derail the talks in the past.

We recall how the Palestinian negotiating team headed by Saeb Erekat resigned after the second prisoner release wave when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced, simultaneously with the release of the 26 prisoners, construction tenders for 5,000 new housing units in the settlements.

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