By Robert Spencer
Jihad Watch
Yet the establishment media and government agencies will continue to accord the "Palestinians" the moral high ground. This delusion is impervious to evidence.
Gaza Rockets Spark Israel Raid on Eve of Prisoner Deal
(AFP)—Israeli warplanes raided the northern Gaza Strip on Monday after militants fired rockets over the border, as Israel readied to free a new batch of long-term Palestinian prisoners.
It was the first air strike on Gaza in more than two months and came shortly after two rockets were fired towards southern Israel.
Despite the flareup along the Gaza border, which has been quiet for months, Israeli officials said it was unlikely to affect the prisoner release which is due to take place on Tuesday night as part of the ongoing direct peace talks with the Palestinians.
Witnesses said the air strike targeted a training ground west of Beit Lahiya that was used by militants from the armed wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement....
The list of prisoners slated for release, 21 of them from the West Bank and five from Gaza, was approved on Monday by senior Israeli ministers.
The names were published later that night, giving victims' families and groups 48 hours to mount a legal challenge before the release goes ahead.
All but one of them were arrested before the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accords, which won the Palestinians limited self-rule but failed to bring about an independent state.
All were convicted of murdering Israelis, according to the details published by Israel's prison service.
A Fatah official told AFP that 19 of the prisoners set to be freed were members of its movement, which is led by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, while four belong to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and three to Hamas.
Meir Indor, head of Almagor, a group representing Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks, told AFP his organization would be petitioning the high court against the impending release.
He said the release showed "double standards" because it was a result of American and European pressure on Israel, which unlike the Jewish state, he said, "do not release terrorists."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to release a total of 104 Palestinians in four stages in line with commitments which brought about a resumption of US-brokered direct talks on July 30 after a hiatus of nearly three years....
Jihadist prisoners released in exchange for commitments to talks that will end up only with more Israeli concessions. Madness—courtesy Barack Hussein Obama.
- Following Aggressive Rocket Fire, IAF Strikes Concealed Rocket Launchers • IDF Blog
- Israel, Palestinians Set Mutually Unacceptable Peace Conditions • Israel Today (Ryan Jones)
- Israel to Release Next Round of Prisoners • Washington Free Beacon
- Gaza Terrorists Fire Rockets at Ashkelon, Israel • CBN
- Iron Dome Intercepts Rocket Fired Towards South • Arutz Sheva
