RAMALLAH: Israel has denied any possibility of a prisoner release deal ahead of President Obama's visit in March, reports Palestinian News Network (PNN). The denial comes from both sources in the Palestinian Authority (PA) as well as the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two high-profile prisoners, Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa'adat, were among those expected to be released. Barghouti, a one-time supporter of the peace process who later became a leader during the Second Intifada, was arrested in an Israeli raid on his Ramallah home in April 2002. In 2004, he was convicted of five counts of murder and sentenced to five life sentences and an additional 40 years for another charge of attempted murder. Though many sources said Barghouti was supposed to be released during the October 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap, he remained imprisoned. Barghouti denies that he ever advocated the murder of civilians, though he consistently maintained that Palestinians have a right to armed resistance against a military occupation. Sa'adat, Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was imprisoned for his role in the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi, an attack that was claimed to be carried out in retaliation for Israel's assassination of Sa'adat's predecessor, Abu Ali Mustafa. The prisoner release would not have been without precedent. Israel has previously released prisoners as a sign of goodwill. This was the case when Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli Prime Miniser, released hundreds of prisoners during talks with the PA in 2007 and 2008. The PA's deputy minister of prisoners' affairs, Ziad Abu Ein, has stated that he is trying to use President Obama's visit to pressure Israel into releasing as many prisoners as possible. He went on to say that under the Oslo Accords, Israel must release all prisoners captured before the accords went into effect. President Obama has stated that his visit to the region, which will consist of two full days in Israel and one trip to Ramallah to speak with Mahmoud Abbas, will not be one of demands. BN
