By Xinhua
Ramallah : A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday welcomed an Israeli decision to release 90 Palestinian prisoners, demanding the release of all prisoners.
“There are more than 11,000 Palestinians and some Arab breathers held in Israeli jails, some of them are patients and aged, and some have spent more than 30 years there” the spokesman said in a statement faxed to the press.
“Though the release of tens of prisoners is important and necessary, it is not a solution for the prisoners’ issue and doesn’t fit the issue’s room of concern for the Palestinian people and the public opinion,” the spokesman said.
On Sunday, the Israeli government initially approved the release of 90 Palestinians as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Muslim’s holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Islamic Hamas movement, which took control of the Gaza Strip from pro-Abbas forces, criticized the Israeli move to free the 90 prisoners, the majority of them affiliated with Abbas’ Fatah movement.
“Israel is following the revolving door in arresting and releasing Palestinians, where it arrests whenever it wants and frees whoever it wants. I believe that this is not accepted by our people,” said Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza.