Pollard-for-prisoners deal said offered by US to save peace talks

Times of Israel ^ | 3/26/2014 | Staff

[mojito]

The United States has proposed freeing Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in a trade-off deal in which Israel would agree to proceed with the next round of prisoner releases, including Israeli Arab prisoners, and the Palestinian Authority would agreed to extend the current peace talks, Israel’s Army Radio reported Wednesday.

It said the offer had been conveyed to Israel and the PA, but there was no official confirmation. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki was quoted telling journalists accompanying Secretary of State John Kerry to a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday morning that there were currently no plans to release Pollard, who is serving a life sentence.

In exchange for Pollard, Israel would agree to release 26 prisoners, among them around 20 Arab Israelis, and the Palestinians would agree to continue talks until the end of 2014, according to Army Radio.

Kerry reportedly made the offer after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear his intentions to forgo the final stage of a prisoner release, previously agreed to as a bargaining chip for starting peace talks this past July, unless Abbas agreed to extend the talks past the upcoming April deadline.

[Axenolith]

Yea, and that's why they have nuclear weapons.

Gambling with the lives of several 10's of millions of Americans for a few thousands of people not even at the time citizens of their nation was unacceptable across a ream of boundaries. Hell, they probably could have asked us to purchase those peoples freedom with cash in a back door deal.

The least they could have done long term was beat the snot out of the local Islamic nations and then not given back their land for "peace"...

[Axenolith]

A warm fuzzy feeling in our figurative guts until we look down and see our entrails slopped all over the floor...

[Wicket]

I love the smell of desperation in the morning. No acceptable reason to release Pollard, except to save the backsides of Kerry and Obama and their “peace plan”

[SJackson]

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Why would Abbas care about Pollard. Israel is OK with going ahead with the prisoner release if the Arabs agree to a time extension. Abbas doesn't accept the extension, thus far. Any action done to "save" the "peace talks" would placate Abbas, not Israel. Anyone have a spare billion?

[Eleutheria5]

Gilad Shalit was not worth the release of one murdering slimeball. Pollard is doubly not worth it. Why so eager to save the piece talks, anyway? If JFK sends in enough box tops, he can get his very own Nobel Piece Prize from Matel.