Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to place the issue of
Palestinian prisoners held in Israel at the top of his agenda during the planned
meeting with US President Barack Obama, a PA official in Ramallah said
Monday.
The official’s announcement came as families of Palestinian
prisoners stepped up their protests in the West Bank, staging demonstrations and
rallies calling on Abbas not to resume the peace talks unless Israel released
their sons.
The official said that Abbas would ask Obama to put pressure
on Israel to release scores of prisoners, especially those who were imprisoned
before the signing of the Oslo Accords, in order to pave the way for the
resumption of the peace talks.
“The issue of the prisoners will be the
No. 1 issue during the talks with President Obama,” the official
said.
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