LOC23:23
20:23 GMT
GAZA, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) asked the
Israeli government to release Dr. Aziz Duwaik, speaker of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC), 23 PLC members and 107 detainees, a senior PNA
official said Sunday.
"Palestinian chief negotiator Dr. Sa'eb Erekat sent messages carrying the
demand to the Israeli side and the International Quartet on the Middle East
peace process (the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and
Russia)," the official told KUNA here under the condition of anonymity.
The almost identical messages were delivered to the UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon, the Quartet's Special Envoy Tony Blair, US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"In the messages, the PNA warned that it would boycott the groundbreaking
talks with Israel, being hosted by Amman, capital of Jordan, if Israel failed
to halt the Jewish settlement constructions in the occupied West Bank and East
Jerusalem by January 26," the official disclosed.
"The strongly-worded messages held Israel responsible for the current
impasse of the peace process and accused the Jewish state of trying to
undermine the inter-Palestinian reconciliation," he pointed out.
"The PNA renews commitment to the quest for reconciliation and can by no
means accept the detention of Dr. Duwaik or any Palestinian citizen," he added.
Dr. Erekat asked Israel to release Duwaik and other 23 MPs on top of who
are Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) Ahmad Sa'dat and Marwan Al-Barghothi - a Fatah leader.
Israel have been detaining 130 Palestinian activists since June 4, 1994,
after signing the Oslo Accords, the official added.
Duwaik was imprisoned by Israel on August 6, 2006, on charges of being a
member of Hamas; he was released on June 22, 2009, before being rearrested
January 19, 2012, while traveling to the West Bank city of Hebron. (end)
mzt.gb
KUNA 222323 Jan 12NNNN