Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert

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Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert

Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz on Monday reports that the Palestinian Authority intends to demand the Quartet for the Middle East to pressure the Israeli government in order for it to keep a promise made by former PM Ehud Olmert to Mahmoud Abbas to release Fatah prisoners. Haaretz says that the Palestinians demand is part of the renewing negotiations the release of two important Fatah leaders: Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.

Mahmoud Abbas told Time magazine a few days ago that Ehud Olmert had promised him to release some Palestinian prisoners if a deal to release in exchange Gilad Shalit were to be concluded. Olmert confirmed for the magazine that he had made that promise.

Abbas wants now to present the incumbent Israeli PM with the proposal to release those Fatah leaders as part of resuming negotiations. The stance of the PA leader is part of a strategy to manage the success of the rival Palestinian faction, Hamas, which was able to cut a deal with the Israeli government.

By that, the Israelis released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a moment that was managed as  victory for both Netanyahu, who hopes to cover the less successful economic policies with the release of a soldier that was captured by Hamas in 2006, and for Hamas, whose popularity has decreased in the context of the Arab Spring.

An Arab Israeli member of the Knesset told the other lawmakers that Israel should not be surprised if the previous two preconditions for the resumption of the negotiations, the settlement freeze and the observance of the borders between 1967, would become three, with the third being the freeing of the Fatah prisoners.

Speaking about the deal between Olmert and Abbas in 2008, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that a number of prisoners to be released was not established on that occasion, nor were criteria established but that Olmert had said that the conditions would be the same as for the swap which involved Shalit, and even better.

Erekat said that the releasing of the prisoners would not become a condition like the settlement freeze and the border issue are, but a matter of fulfilling a responsibility.

According to sources, Olmert had promised to release 550 prisoners in exchange for Shalit in a move that was meant to increase the power of the Palestinian Authority over the one of the Hamas.

Now, the Palestinian Authority centers on releasing 170 people who had been in prison since the Oslo Accords. It is considered that even though some members in the cabinet may support the idea of helping Abbas, the senior members could not agree to any gesture of good faith in light of his UN bid for statehood, made in September.

Mahmoud Abbas and Benyamin Netanyahu

The Palestinian Authority president came under a very hard attack on Monday from the Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said that Abbas was the main obstacle in the way of peace and not the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Lieberman said that it would be a good thing if Abbas resigned and that he only thought of his place in the history books, not about reconciliation and dialogue.

Speaking about the UN bid, Lieberman said that it would never pass the Security Council, and that a state proclaimed without prior negotiations on security issues could be very dangerous for Israel, as it could become a launching pad for the enemies of the country.

The foreign minister also said that there would be no more settlement freeze voted in the cabinet, alluding to the press comments according to which the Israeli government would be willing to freeze governmental constructions in the West Bank for a while, thus giving Abbas the excuse he needs in order to return to negotiations.

Palestinians reacted angrily to Lieberman’s words, taking them as a threat to the life of their president and threatening to demand the US and the EU to intervene in their defense.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces top officials recommended the government to help Abbas recuperate some of the approval lost during the Shalit swap with the Hamas.

They proposed the prime minister that in order to give Abbas the opportunity to present some achievements to the Palestinian public he be handed over empty lands to the Palestinian Authority from those who remain under Israeli security authority under the Oslo Accords, and also to hand over to him the remains of several terrorists.

They also say that the betterment of quality of life in the West Bank should be taken into account, and that these efforts are to be made in order to avert the possibility that he make good on his promise and resign after Hamas had its victory and his bid to the UN is likely to fail.

The concern for Abbas is said to be motivated by the fact that he is and must remain a serious peace talks partner. The officers warned that Abbas must be sustained unless the Israeli cabinet wanted that the power in the West Bank be grabbed by extremists.

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