[UPI News] – JERUSALEM, Aug. 13 (UPI) — Twenty-six Palestinian convicts were in a single jail before their release by Israel starting late Tuesday, hours before Middle East peace talks were to resume.The prisoners were moved into the maximum-security Ayalon Prison in the central Israeli city of Ramla, an Israeli Prison Service official told Ynetnews.The inmates were then expected to be divided into two groups and taken to two other prisons, probably in southern Israel, the official said.
One group of 12 will then be taken to the Beitunia Crossing where they will be released into the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement.The remaining 14 prisoners will be taken to the Erez Crossing on the Israeli-Gaza Strip barrier, where they will be released into the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said.An exact release schedule was not decided, but the prisoners would be released starting Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, the prison official told Ynetnews.Before being released, the prisoners will have their identities confirmed, undergo a medical exam and have a final talk with the prison’s commander and staff, Ynetnews said.It was not immediately clear if the prisoners will be required to sign a pledge vowing not to pursue attacks against Israel, as earlier-released prisoners were required to do.”It’s not the first time we’ve release security detainees,” a prison source told Ynetnews. “We’ve released hundreds before and we’re experienced.”Israel announced the prisoners’ names late Sunday.Among them is one of the convicted killers of a Holocaust survivor named Isaac Rotenberg, 67, who was found bludgeoned to death in 1994. Another prisoner was convicted of killing 84-year-old Israeli Avraham Kinstler with an ax.Several Palestinian Authority officials said they were disappointed Israel did not include at least two or three prisoners well known to the Palestinian public…..
Read More: Israel prepares 26 Palestinians for release