Israeli court rejects appeal against Palestinian prisoners' release

The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by an organization of bereaved families against the upcoming release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, as part of a deal to free 104 prisoners arrested before the 1993 Oslo peace accords, the Court Authority announced in a statement. The appeal, filed by "Almagor" organization, claimed that the release is not in the authority of the government, a stance the court rejected. On Sunday, the Israeli Prisons Services published on its website the list of the 26 prisoners, and Israeli citizens were given 48 hours to appeal against the decision. Now that the appeal was denied, the final hurdle was lifted before the expected release of the prisoners on Tuesday night. In its ruling, the court said that the matter is "sensitive" but that there is no viable reason to get involved in the government's decision to release the prisoners, which is carried out within the framework of the peace talks with the Palestinians. The release of the prisoners comes as a goodwill gesture ahead of the second round of direct talks between the two sides, which is slated for Wednesday in Jerusalem. The prisoners were transferred in the past two days to the Ayalon prison in Ramle, from where they are scheduled to leave the prison in secured convoys to the West Bank and Gaza.