Palestinian Prisoners to Be Freed Under Pact, Rabin Says

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said for the first time that Israel will free its Palestinian prisoners as part of its peace deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

“Prisoners, detainees will be freed,” Rabin said Friday on Israel Television when asked if Israel might soon release thousands of Palestinians held in jails in the occupied territories.

Negotiations on implementing the Palestinian self-rule deal signed in Washington last month are due to begin in Egypt on Wednesday.

The agreement, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories starting in the Gaza Strip and West Bank town of Jericho, does not specifically mention the more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The Israeli media have reported that Israel is considering freeing some prisoners but is adamant that it will not release those convicted of attacks against its soldiers and citizens.

But Rabin said details of a prisoner release will be worked out in the talks with the PLO.

Israel Television said the opposition Likud Party, which opposes the deal with the PLO, immediately called for a debate in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, on Rabin’s remarks. Likud believes a prisoner release will lead to a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis, the television said.