CABINET COMMUNIQUE - Release of Palestinian Prisoners
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)
Sunday, July 06, 2003

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 6.7.2003:

1. Ministers discussed the issue of the release of Palestinian prisoners and
the criteria that were formulated by the Israel Security Agency (ISA).
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the release of Palestinian prisoners
is a very serious and complex problem because it has to do with criminals
whose place is behind bars.

When negotiations began with the Palestinians, Israel was presented with
dozens of demands for various gestures. Israel knew to distinguish between
those that had a positive internal significance for the Palestinians and
those that did not; therefore, Israel rejected many requests that entailed
concessions on its part without any benefit to the negotiating process.

It is not so regarding prisoners. All professional assessments which were
submitted to Prime Minister Sharon indicated that releasing prisoners is
likely to significantly contribute to the strengthening of Palestinian Prime
Minister Abu Mazen, with whom we are negotiating. A strong Palestinian
administration will be able to act more effectively against terror, and
therefore, Israel has a strong interest. The Prime Minister said that he
has been guided by a balance between a limited move that would take into
account both the desire to move the process and the negotiations forward and
- at the same time - considerations of justice, according to which criminal
terrorists will be dealt to the fullest extent of the law.

Prime Minister Sharon stressed that these considerations also guided ISA
Director Avi Dichter towards criteria on the release of Palestinian
prisoners.

Prime Minister Sharon said that the recommendations to release prisoners
would not apply to prisoners with blood on their hands, murderers, those who
have attacked Israelis and foreign nationals, or to those who have
dispatched them. Similarly, the release recommendations will not apply to
those who are currently on trial or who have perpetrated exceptional
attacks.

ISA Director Dichter presented ministers with the guiding principles and
definitions regarding considerations for the release of Palestinian
prisoners from Israeli facilities and noted that the phrase "blood on his
hands" would be defined so as to include those who physically participated
in attacks in which Israelis and/or foreign nationals were killed and/or
injured; those who dispatched terrorists to attacks in which people were
killed; those who dispatched suicide-terrorists who were apprehended before
they could perpetrate their planned attacks; and potential
suicide-terrorists who were dispatched to perpetrate attacks (even if the
explosive device was not in their possession).

In summation, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that in the security negotiating
process with the Palestinians, Israel was being asked - and would yet be
asked - to make concessions; we will make concessions to the Palestinians so
as to facilitate progress in the security process only on matters that, in
our opinion, will strengthen the Palestinians' ability to fight terror.

All professional assessments support the conclusion that releasing prisoners
would strengthen Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen's ability to fight and
eliminate terror; therefore, we have positively considered a limited,
qualified and measured release of prisoners.

Prime Minister Sharon added that the criteria presented by ISA Director
Dichter are based on an appropriate compromise between the dictates of
conscience, which require that criminals be imprisoned, and the need to move
forward the security negotiating process with the Palestinians, which could
lead to tranquility and peace. The Prime Minister said that the release
would be carried out in tightly supervised, small and measured doses in
relation to proven Palestinian actions in the security sphere; in other
words, if terror continues and there is no genuine Palestinian effort to
fight and eliminate it - the releases will stop.

The Cabinet decided to approve the criteria for releasing prisoners, as they
were presented by ISA Director Dichter. Similarly, the Cabinet decided to
establish a ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Sharon that will
deal with the release of Palestinian prisoners, on the date of their
release, according to the then prevailing circumstances regarding the
honoring of the Palestinians' commitments - all according to the approved
criteria and as per the guidelines of Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein.

Justice Minster Yosef Lapid, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Public Security
Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, Social Affairs Minister Zevulon Orlev and Minister
Gideon Ezra will also be members of the aforementioned committee.

2. Defense Minister Mofaz briefed ministers on current security matters.