Monday, June 06, 2005

Israel pressures PA to stay execution of alleged collaborators

From an article by Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent, 06/06/2005 ...

The Israeli government has been exerting strong diplomatic pressure to prevent the Palestinian Authority from executing some 50 Palestinians who were convicted of collaborating with Israel and sentenced by a military court to execution.

....Israel has also clarified to the PA that the continuation of the process of freeing Palestinian prisoners held in Israel is contingent on the decision to refrain from carrying out the executions. Some 400 Palestinian prisoners were released last week only after the PA assured Israel that there was no intention of putting the sentences into effect.

...Israel Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and the prime minister's adviser, Dov Weissglas...said that Israel would not tolerate the executions, whether the people involved had actually collaborated or not.

....The Israeli position was reiterated at a meeting of the joint committee on prisoner affairs that took place on May 8. The PA representatives then informed their Israeli counterparts that Abu Mazen had no intention of carrying out the executions.

No comments: