The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: happyg on April 10, 2014, 05:04:00 pm
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By Jack Moore
A deal has been reached between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to extend US-brokered peace talks, according to Middle Eastern news outlet Al-Arabiya.
As part of the deal, Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard is to be freed from his 27-year detention in the US while the contentious fourth set of Palestinian prisoners are to be released.
The American-born Pollard was sentenced to life in 1987 after admitting to passing on US miliary secrets to the Jewish state whilst working as civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy.
The negotiations were on the verge of breakdown after Israel refused to release the Palestinian prisoners and, in retaliation, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas registered with 15 UN agencies against Israel's wishes.
The new deal will see Israel release an unknown number of Palestinian prisoners and suspend settlement construction in the West Bank.
In return, the Palestinians will suspend their plans to join the UN bodies, including the Geneva Convention on the conduct of war and occupations.
Abbas said he signed letters of accessions to 15 international conventions, thus bolstering Palestine claims to statehood, in response to Israel's failure to release the prisoners.
Kerry previously said that both sides had taken "unhelpful, unilateral actions".
"This is not an open-ended effort, it never has been," Kerry said. "It is reality check time, and we intend to evaluate precisely what the next steps will be."
"Both parties say they want to continue, neither party has said they want to call it off, but we're not going to sit there indefinitely," he said.
The US had hoped to reach an agreement by 29 April but this date seems to have given more time for a deal to be reached. The new deadline date is as yet unknown.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/breaking-spy-jonathan-pollard-be-released-by-us-israel-palestine-extend-peace-talks-1444291 (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/breaking-spy-jonathan-pollard-be-released-by-us-israel-palestine-extend-peace-talks-1444291)
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Isn't Pollard supposed to be released on parole soon anyways?
yep!
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Isn't Pollard supposed to be released on parole soon anyways?
Yes, and even he thinks this exchange is a bad idea.
:smokin:
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Well he was lucky to be housed at the Butner Country Club all these years..
Check out where it is ranked in the world in: The 50 Most Comfortable Prisons in the World http://blog.arrestrecords.com/the-50-most-comfortable-prisons-in-the-world/
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Well he was lucky to be housed at the Butner Country Club all these years..
Check out where it is ranked in the world in: The 50 Most Comfortable Prisons in the World http://blog.arrestrecords.com/the-50-most-comfortable-prisons-in-the-world/
Free room and board, recreation, privacy; what more could a person ask for?
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Isn't Pollard supposed to be released on parole soon anyways?
He's up for parole the end of next year. That's not the same thing as "supposed to be released". (IMHO ^-^)
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Just to be complete, one wonders what the Palestinians think of the exchange.
I wonder what Americans think of this release. Why would America have to give up a spy to Israel to bring Netanyahu back to the negotiating table? Why the heck do we have to make any concession to him?
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I wonder what Americans think of this release. Why would America have to give up a spy to Israel to bring Netanyahu back to the negotiating table? Why the heck do we have to make any concession to him?
Pollard damaged the United States, that makes him a hero to Obama.
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Pollard damaged the United States, that makes him a hero to Obama.
Are you TRYING to make my blood boil?? :laugh:
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Just to be complete, one wonders what the Palestinians think of the exchange.
To be accurate, there is no such thing as a "Palestinian". These people are more correctly identified as "Displaced Jordanian Nationals"...
:smokin: