Israel on September 27 released 24 Palestinian prisoners. Those freed were all members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group loosely linked to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement. Of the 24, eight will have to return to their cells at 9 p.m. every day. Last month, Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners in a gesture aimed at bolstering Abbas’s standing. About 11,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, the Islamist Hamas movement denounced statements made in New York by the Middle East Quartet, claiming the diplomatic group is biased toward Israel. “The position of the Quartet reflects a pro-Israeli bias,” the Palestinian movement that rules the Gaza Strip said in a statement.
Hamas also criticised the diplomatic group, made up of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, for calling on Palestinians to put an end to “acts of terrorism” against Israel. “It is perfectly unjust to qualify as terrorism the Palestinian resistance, which is perfectly legitimate,” the movement said.