Israel set to free 26 Palestinian prisoners within days

The Israeli government has published a list of 26 Palestinian long-term prisoners due to be released within days, as part of a peace deal.

Some of the inmates have spent more than two decades behind bars.

The move, made late last night by a panel of three cabinet ministers headed by Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon and security and legal personnel, is the first stage of a deal which will see peace talks resume this week.

Families of victims of the inmates’ attacks have 48 hours to appeal their planned release to the high court, though the court is unlikely to intervene.

The prisoners are the first of 104 who are due in principle to be released as part of an agreement reached after intensive brokering by US Secretary of State John Kerry to renew talks for a Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had demanded the release of these men, many held since before a 1993 interim peace deal with Israel, as a condition for agreeing to resume talks that broke down in 2010 in a dispute over Jewish settlement building.

Washington has set a target of nine months for the talks.