Israel to resume release of Fatah prisoners after delay

Israel will continue the release of a group of 87 Fatah-affiliated prisoners, after a delay yesterday which prevented the freeing of 30 Gaza-bound jailed Palestinians. A prisoner with ties to Hamas had his release revoked.

The delay in the release, a gesture by the Israeli government aimed to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, raised a number of questions, particularly over whether some crisis had occured.

However, a number of agencies involved - including the Prisons' Service, the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister's office - insisted yesterday that the delay was normal.

Yesterday 56 Fatah prisoners were delivered to the Bitunia roadblock in three buses, and were taken from there to the presidential complex in Ramallah.

Today, 30 other Fatah prisoners are expected to be released from Ketziot Prison in the Negev this morning, and delivered to Erez crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday's release was expected to take place in the morning, but only at noon did the Prisons' Service receive the order to move the prisoners to the release point.

According to some sources the delay stemmed from the failure of President Shimon Peres to sign the necessary documents in time, because these were not brought to him sufficiently in advance.

The delay was particularly problematic in the case of the prisoners scheduled for release to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas has been in power since June. The transfer required more extensive security preparations.

In recent days, the prisoners were delivered to Ketziot from different areas in the country, where they had been processed in anticipation of today's release.

Only in the afternoon did it become clear that the Fatah prisoners bound for Gaza would only be released today.

The Prime Minister's Office was quick to insist that the delay did not stem from a "political problem." Similarly, the Defense Ministry was vociferous in denying that any security related problems had held up the release.

The delay was described as a "problem in logistics," however it was a problem directly linked with Peres not signing the amnesty forms on time.

Peres welcomed hundreds of citizens to an open house at his official residence in Jerusalem yesterday, and when asked about the delay had no comment.

However, analysts noted that it is likely that he had held his signature in an effort to show that he was no rubber stamp to government decisions, and that he wanted to evaluate the requests for amnesty individually.

Concerns arose that the vocal reluctance expressed by Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to the release had contributed to the delay.

Even though Ashkenazi formally approved the list of prisoners, he also attached a letter in which he expressed his reservations, saying that their release is not moral in light of the continued captivity of Gilad Shalit, abducted by Hamas and its allies more than a year ago.