On 11 August 2013, the Israeli ministerial committee convened in order to authorize a team of ministers to deal with the release of prisoners during the diplomatic negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon chaired the discussion; Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri also participated, as did representatives of the Prison Service, the Justice Ministry, the IDF and other agencies.
The committee approved the release of 26 prisoners. The list of prisoners is published on the Prison Service website (http://www.ips.gov.il/).
The list includes 14 prisoners who will be transferred to Gaza and 12 from Judea and Samaria. Eight prisoners on the list were due to be released in the next three years and two in the next six months. It was emphasized in the aforesaid discussion that that if any of the released prisoners return to hostile activity against the State of Israel, they will be returned to continue serving their sentences.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “This moment is not easy for me. It is not easy for the ministers. It is not easy especially for the families, the bereaved families, whose heart I understand. But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the country and this is one of those moments.”
On Tuesday 13 August, 26 Palestinians prisoners were released from Israeli jails, the first group of a total of 104 prisoners Israel has promised to free in exchange for Palestinian participation in a new peace process. The list of prisoners was negotiated with the Palestinian Authority