Israel approves release of 26 jailed Palestinian terrorists

An Israeli ministerial committee Sunday approved the release of 26 Palestinian terrorists, all of whom are serving life sentences for murdering Israelis and were convicted before the 20-year old Oslo Accords. This is the second batch of 104 prisoners whose freedom was promised against the Palestinian Authority’s consent to enter into peace negotiations three months ago. Twenty-one will be sent to the West Bank and 5 to the Gaza Strip.
Israel also bowed to heavy European pressure and ended its year-long boycott of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council imposed in protest over being systematically singled out for condemnation out of all other members, including Iran, Syria and North Korea.