Israel to release second group of Palestinian prisoners

Israel will release the second group of Palestinian prisoners on October 29, the Walla! news website reported on Monday, based on accounts of Palestinian officials. In July, the Israeli cabinet voted in favor of releasing 104 Palestinian prisoners in batches, as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority, amid the renewal of peace talks between two sides later the month. The Israeli Prison Service will publish in the upcoming week a list of 30 prisoners set to be released. The first group which included 26 Palestinian prisoners was released on August 13. Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused requests by both U.S. and Palestinian officials, to bring forward the release of the second group to October 13, amid the Palestinian Feast of Sacrifice holiday, the Ha'aretz daily reported. Last month, right-wing hawkish members of the coalition demanded that Netanyahu halts the upcoming release of the prisoners, amid several attacks on Israelis in the West Bank in which three Israelis were killed and one girl was injured. A letter, sent by Economy Minister Naftali Bennet along with members of Netanyahu's Likud party, asked Netanyahu to "convene the cabinet urgently to discuss the continuation of the policy of releasing prisoners in light of recent developments." Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been resumed in July after a three-year halt, due to Israel's settlements expansion in the West Bank, on lands annexed during the 1967 Mideast War.