On Sunday, July 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to get his cabinet to approve the release of 14 Israeli Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails. His proposal was attacked by ministers and senior security officials alike, including the head of the Shin Bet Yoram Cohen. They argued that Palestinian Chairman Abu Mazen must not be granted patronage over the Israeli Arab population.
As a result of this severe opposition and Netanyahu’s concern that any failure to approve his proposal to release those prisoners would jeopardize the launch of negotiations with the Palestinians in Washington, it was eventually decided to remove the Israeli Arab prisoners from the list submitted to the Palestinian leadership and to decide on their release at some later date, as yet undetermined.
