Alive now, dead later?

19 - 25 July 2007 - Al Ahram Weekly - Issue No. 854
Palestinian activists have nervously decided to hand in their arms in exchange for an amnesty from Israel. But are they correct in trusting the Israelis not to assassinate them in future? Not according to seasoned Israeli commentators, writes Saleh Al-Naami.

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Alex Fishman, a military commentator for Yediot Aharanot, observed that all the Palestinian activists that Israel said it would take off its wanted list would remain under surveillance by Israeli intelligence so that they could be easily nabbed whenever security officials in Tel Aviv deemed it necessary.

Israeli Channel 2 defence correspondent, Ronny Daniel was amused by Fatah activists' talking about "retiring" from the fight. He quipped that the Israeli security services would never be satisfied until the activists were "retired from the face of this earth."

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Israel arrests 300 Fatah affiliates prior to the release of 250
Nablus – Ma'an – Statistical evidence has revealed that the Israeli authorities have intensified their arrest campaigns against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past two weeks, especially after the Sharm el Sheikh summit of Middle Eastern leaders. During the summit Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, promised to release 250 prisoners affiliated to the Fatah movement.

The pledge was portrayed as a gesture of good will towards the Palestinians.

Fatah's information office issued a statement announcing that Israel has apprehended more than 300 Palestinians affiliated to the Fatah movement over the past two weeks. The number arrested in just two weeks has already exceeded the number of detainees proposed to be freed by Olmert.

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Goodwill: Israel style
CNN International acknowledged the arrest of over 200 before releasing 250. They also acknowledged that there are some 11,000 prisoners in Israeli prisons.

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20 July 2007: Alan Fisher reports for Al Jazeera English on one of the 'freed' Palestinian prisoners:

More than 250 Palestinian prisoners are freed by Israel.

Their release is being seen as a gesture of support for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Not one of the released prisoners is from Hamas.

Around 85 per cent of those freed are from Abbas' Fatah faction.

The rest from smaller groups, like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

But the number is just a fraction of nearly 10,000 Palestinians still held in Israeli jails.