Violent clashes have erupted near the West Bank city of Ramallah between Israeli forces and protesters demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Palestinian demonstrators staged a protest rally outside Ofer prison to voice their outrage at Tel Aviv’s refusal to go ahead with the promised release of 26 Palestinian inmates.
The prisoners were supposed to be freed as part of US-brokered talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli regime.
Tel Aviv had promised to free the inmates and in exchange, the Palestinian Authority (PA) pledged to freeze all moves to seek membership in UN organizations until April 2014.
The Palestinian officials resumed their approach to international agencies after Israel refused to release the prisoners and responded by applying to join 15 world bodies on April 1.
Israel has threatened to slap the PA with punitive measures, including a more severe economic blockade, if it keeps up efforts to join the UN agencies.
On Thursday, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) denounced Tel Aviv for its “habit of evading agreements and conventions it has signed,” saying the basis for future talks with the Israeli regime must change.
Since the resumption of the direct talks last July, Palestinians have objected to a number of Israeli requests, including continuation of the regime’s illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The PA also refuses to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state," saying it would not accept any agreement with the regime which refrains from the recognition of East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
MRS/AB/SS
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