Jordan Times
Monday, April 18, 2005
Israel to free 9
Jordanian prisoners
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh and Omar Karmi
The Government on Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to release nine Jordanian
prisoners from its jails, but said it was committed to bringing all detainees
home.
Foreign Minister Farouq Qasrawi said the Israeli decision was “a positive and
good step in the right direction to release all the prisoners.”
And Jordan's Ambassador to Israel Marouf Bakhit said the government will spare
no effort to release the remaining detainees, including four who were held
before the 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
The Israeli Cabinet yesterday unanimously voted to release Abdul Baset Saleh
Dalasheh, Ahmad Mustafa Mohammed Dabei, Wael Abdul Qader Mohammed Mousa, Mahmoud
Riyad Jamil Al Ahmad, Mohammed Ali Hassan, Rifaei Hussein Hassan Ankoush,
Muhanad Tawfiq Abdul Latif Hamdoun, Bilal Khaled Abdul Qader Hamada and Usama
Ahmad Abu Hamda — who are expected to be freed on Wednesday. Of the nine men,
two are expected to remain in the Palestinian territories with their families,
according to Bakhit. There are reportedly more than 20 Jordanian prisoners in
Israeli jails, though the exact number has not been officially confirmed.
The nine citizens are to be released because they did not fall under the Jewish
state's “blood on their hands” criteria — which means that they have not
participated in attacks on Israelis, according to Mark Regev, a spokesman for
the Israeli foreign ministry.
Regev told The Jordan Times that the release was a gesture to Jordan in
recognition of what he called the Kingdom's role and “moderating influence” in
the region. He said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom had been pushing hard
for the release and was working for progress on the remaining prisoners.
“We want to improve and strengthen relations between Israel and Jordan,” Israeli
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted by Reuters as saying. Jordan
returned Bakhit in February, and one of his first steps was to visit Jordanian
prisoners and assure them they remained at the top of the Kingdom's priorities.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, visited Amman after talks in
Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Before flying to Jordan, Abbas told
reporters in Cairo that he was ready to coordinate the Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza scheduled for this summer, as long as Israel assures the Palestinian
Authority that the withdrawal is part of the Quartet-sponsored roadmap. “I
confirmed with President Mubarak... that we are ready to coordinate with the
Israelis completely,” Abbas was reported by the Associated Press as saying. “But
we have to know where our feet are taking us, and whether [the withdrawal] is
tied to the roadmap, and whether they are complete withdrawals.” Abbas is under
pressure at home, where persistent rumours are swirling that Palestinian
parliamentary elections, also slated for July, are going to be postponed. While
PA officials have denied that there will be any delay, a new elections law has
still to be passed by the legislative council, rendering at least a short delay
almost impossible. The possibility has angered Hamas, which is set to contest
parliamentary elections for the first time. Hamas spokesmen said that if
anything but a short delay should occur, the group would reconsider its
commitment to the current unofficial ceasefire with Israel, agreed upon between
Abbas and the opposition factions in Cairo last month. In the northern West Bank
town of Jenin, meanwhile, armed Palestinians shut down a PA office and
threatened to kill legislative council members if the PA did not provide them
with jobs.
The group was led by the local leader of the Fateh-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigades, Zacharia Zubbeidi. Guns were fired in the air, but the situation was
eventually resolved with no casualties.
Some 40 per cent of all Palestinians currently live below the poverty line,
according to World Bank figures. In Jerusalem, Israeli security officials said
they had arrested three Palestinians accused of plotting to kill the spiritual
leader of the Israeli religious Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. It is not clear
when they were arrested, but according to Israeli media reports one has already
been charged while the others remain under questioning.