This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/world/middleeast/jonathan-pollard.html

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
U.S. and Israel Said to Be Near Agreement on Release of Spy Palestinian Leader Moves to Join U.N. Agencies, Threatening Peace Talks with Israel
(about 4 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Officials involved in the fraught Israeli-Palestinian peace talks said on Tuesday that an agreement was near on extending the negotiations through 2015 in exchange for the release of Jonathan J. Pollard, an American serving a life sentence for spying for Israel. The agreement would also include the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including citizens of Israel, and a partial freeze on construction in West Bank settlements. JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority signed papers Tuesday evening to join 15 international agencies, threatening a breakdown in the fraught Mideast peace talks, even as Secretary of State John Kerry planned to fly here Wednesday to finalize a deal extending the negotiations into 2015.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel hammered out details of the emerging deal in meetings here that began Monday night and continued early on Tuesday. The agreement was awaiting approval from the White House regarding Mr. Pollard as well as from President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The timing remained unclear: The release of Arab-Israeli prisoners, among other things, would be subject to a vote by the Israeli cabinet, and no meeting has yet been scheduled. Mr. Abbas, who has been under pressure from other Palestinian leaders and the public to press his case for statehood through United Nations agencies, said Tuesday that he was taking that course because Israel had failed to release a fourth batch of long-serving Palestinian prisoners by the end of March, as promised when the talks started last summer.
“My assumption would be you would only schedule a meeting when a deal is finalized,” one senior official briefed on the situation said, insisting on anonymity under Mr. Kerry’s rule that details of the negotiations not be discussed publicly. “There is an emerging deal. It’s not finalized, it’s emerging.” Both Israel and the United States vigorously oppose Palestinian membership in these international agencies. Congress passed a law saying such membership could trigger a withdrawal of United States financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and other steps.
Mr. Kerry, who flew to Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on the Ukraine crisis after less than 24 hours in Jerusalem, will return to the Midlle East on Wednesday to meet with Mr. Abbas in Ramallah, American officials said. It will be the third time in a week that he has interrupted European travels in an effort to salvage the talks he started last summer. A senior Palestinian official said the 15 agencies Mr. Abbas moved to join — out of more than 60 possible — did not include the International Criminal Court or International Court of Justice, where many Palestinians hope to prosecute Israelis for what they consider war crimes, including the demolition of homes, arrests and killings of Palestinians, and building of settlements. The 15 did include the Geneva and Vienna conventions, and agencies dealing with women’s and children’s rights, the official said.
The senior official said the terms of the developing agreement would be for Mr. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst convicted of espionage more than a quarter century ago, to be released before Passover, which begins the evening of April 14. Israel would free a fourth batch of long-serving Palestinian prisoners as promised at the start of the talks, as well as 400 other prisoners, many of them women and children, who were not convicted of murder. The Palestinian move came hours after Secretary of State John Kerry announced he would fly back to the region Wednesday – interrupting European travels for the third time in a week – to meet Mr. Abbas in hopes of securing an extension of the talks.
Among the prisoners would be 14 Arab-Israelis, whose release is deeply controversial in Israel and could cause a crisis in its governing coalition, with some ministers threatening to quit if they are freed. Officials involved in the negotiations said that the deal under discussion would involve the release of Jonathan J. Pollard, an American serving a life sentence for spying for Israel, along with the promised fourth batch of long-serving prisoners – including Arab-Israeli citizens – and 400 other Palestinian prisoners. It also included a partial freeze on Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, in exchange for the Palestinians’ continued commitment to refrain from joining international agencies.
Secretary Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel negotiated details of the emerging deal in meetings here that began Monday night and continued early on Tuesday. But the agreement was awaiting approval from the White House regarding Mr. Pollard as well as from President Abbas, and Mr. Abbas’s action Tuesday night may well make it irrelevant.
Israel refused to release the fourth batch of prisoners unless Mr. Abbas agreed to extend negotiations, arguing that its original commitment was not binding because no meaningful talks had taken place since November. Israel’s turnabout on Tuesday, eased by the promise of Mr. Pollard’s release, may have come too late.
“Today is the last chance that Israel has to release these prisoners,” Jameel Shehada, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, had said in a radio interview Tuesday morning. “Yesterday, the leadership had taken a clear stance to go to international agencies because it is very clear that the Israelis are not interested in abiding by their part of the deal and releasing the prisoners.”
It was unclear Tuesday evening whether Mr. Kerry, who flew to Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on the Ukraine crisis after less than 24 hours in Jerusalem, would cancel his plans to return in light of Mr. Abbas’s move. Walla, an Israeli news website, reported that the scheduled meeting between Mr. Kerry and Mr. Abbas had been called off.
Earlier, a senior official involved in the negotiations had said the terms of the developing agreement would be for Mr. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst convicted of espionage more than a quarter century ago, to be released before Passover, which begins the evening of April 14. Israel would free a fourth batch of long-serving Palestinian prisoners as promised at the start of the talks, as well as 400 other prisoners, many of them women and children, who were not convicted of murder.
Among the prisoners would be 14 Arab-Israelis, whose release is deeply controversial in Israel because it raises questions about sovereignty, and could cause a crisis in its governing coalition, with some ministers threatening to quit if they are freed.
Israel would also agree to show “restraint” in building in its West Bank settlements, which most of the world views as illegal. The partial freeze would apply to the issuing of government tenders for housing; projects underway would be allowed to continue, and institutional projects like schools could still move forward. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians consider the capital of their future state, would not be included in the freeze.Israel would also agree to show “restraint” in building in its West Bank settlements, which most of the world views as illegal. The partial freeze would apply to the issuing of government tenders for housing; projects underway would be allowed to continue, and institutional projects like schools could still move forward. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians consider the capital of their future state, would not be included in the freeze.
Palestinians, in turn, would agree not to join more than 60 United Nations and other agencies, including the International Criminal Court, suspending an effort that has been vigorously opposed by both Israel and Washington. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, and Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Mr. Abbas, did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. Mr. Shehada had said in the morning radio interview that “on principle, the leadership rejects the idea of extending the talks, basically because no progress has been made.”
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, and Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Mr. Abbas, did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday afternoon. Jameel Shehada, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, said Palestinian leaders would convene Tuesday evening to discuss the proposed deal. “However, if the U.S. promises and the Israelis reassure that the negotiations need a limited amount of time to achieve progress, then the leadership may be more lenient,” he said. “But there must be a complete halt to the settlements, and more prisoners must be released.”
“On principle, the leadership rejects the idea of extending the talks, basically because no progress has been made — on the contrary, things got worse,” Mr. Shehada said on Voice of Palestine radio. “However, if the U.S. promises and the Israelis reassure that the negotiations need a limited amount of time to achieve progress, then the leadership may be more lenient. But there must be a complete halt to the settlements, and more prisoners must be released.”
Mr. Shehada said that while Palestinians were “not a party” in the discussions over Mr. Pollard’s fate, they “completely reject any link between Pollard and the release of our prisoners, or with the extension of negotiations.” He also said “today is the last chance” for Israel to release the promised fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners — an impossible deadline because the release requires a 48-hour waiting period after approval by five Israeli ministers and the five have not yet convened.
Within Israel, heated debate began Tuesday over details of the possible deal. Mr. Pollard’s cause has been embraced by the same right-wing politicians who oppose the release of Arab-Israeli prisoners, any slowdown in settlement construction and in some cases the peace talks themselves.Within Israel, heated debate began Tuesday over details of the possible deal. Mr. Pollard’s cause has been embraced by the same right-wing politicians who oppose the release of Arab-Israeli prisoners, any slowdown in settlement construction and in some cases the peace talks themselves.
While Mr. Netanyahu could win significant political cover with a preholiday homecoming for Mr. Pollard, who was granted Israeli citizenship while in prison, his coalition is deeply divided over the Palestinian question. Several ministers have vowed to vote against any release of imprisoned Israeli citizens. The question is whether they would quit — and possibly force new elections — if a majority of the cabinet approves the deal.While Mr. Netanyahu could win significant political cover with a preholiday homecoming for Mr. Pollard, who was granted Israeli citizenship while in prison, his coalition is deeply divided over the Palestinian question. Several ministers have vowed to vote against any release of imprisoned Israeli citizens. The question is whether they would quit — and possibly force new elections — if a majority of the cabinet approves the deal.
Yair Shamir, the minister of agriculture, said, “A lot of things are being mixed up that don’t go together.”Yair Shamir, the minister of agriculture, said, “A lot of things are being mixed up that don’t go together.”
“We must insist on our principles, on our land, on not releasing terrorists — certainly not Israeli-Arab citizens. If this comes up for a vote, I will definitely vote against,” Mr. Shamir, a member of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu faction, said on Israel Radio. “My heart is with Pollard if he is not released. Of course he should be released, but for other reasons, and not as a bribe.”“We must insist on our principles, on our land, on not releasing terrorists — certainly not Israeli-Arab citizens. If this comes up for a vote, I will definitely vote against,” Mr. Shamir, a member of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu faction, said on Israel Radio. “My heart is with Pollard if he is not released. Of course he should be released, but for other reasons, and not as a bribe.”
Michael B. Oren, who recently finished a tour as Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said Mr. Pollard should be released “without any connection to diplomatic or any other moves” but that Israel also had to ensure “the talks will not collapse and, if they do, we are not responsible for the collapse.”Michael B. Oren, who recently finished a tour as Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said Mr. Pollard should be released “without any connection to diplomatic or any other moves” but that Israel also had to ensure “the talks will not collapse and, if they do, we are not responsible for the collapse.”
“We have to ask ourselves, have the Palestinians become addicted to Israeli incentives?” Mr. Oren said in a radio interview.“We have to ask ourselves, have the Palestinians become addicted to Israeli incentives?” Mr. Oren said in a radio interview.