Moscow hails release of 26 Palestinians by Israel

Russia welcomed the release of a group of Palestinians prisoners by Israel, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Israeli authorities freed 26 Palestinians jailed before 1993, when then Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed a peace accord in Oslo. "Moscow welcomes that important humanitarian move," the ministry said in a statement. It said the decisions would build trust between the sides in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "We believe the agreement over release of 104 Palestinian inmates will be consistently implemented and fulfilled in full," the ministry said. Russia added that the mutual steps have been needed to create positive atmosphere and guarantee success of the Israeli-Palestinian dialogues. The second round of talks between the two sides is scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on Wednesday, while a third round will be held in the West Bank town of Jericho. Following the release from the Ayalon prison, 11 Palestinians were taken to the West Bank city of Ramallah and 15 others to the checkpoint at the Gaza Strip. According to the agreement between Israeli and Palestinian authorities, the Israeli government approved on July 28 the release of 104 prisoners in the upcoming months.