US government considering 'lucrative' offer to Israel to save peace talks

Instead of exercising pressure on Israel, the US administration is currently considering a “lucrative” offer to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to save the peace process and release a fourth round of prisoners, the Israeli radio channel Reshet Bet reported.

The Israeli broadcaster quoted Western diplomats as saying that the US administration is worried about a potential collapse in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and that it is seeking to submit a proposal that would enable Netanyahu to convince his government to approve the release of the fourth round of Palestinian prisoners, including 1948 Arabs.

The Western diplomatic sources added that the US administration does not categorically reject Netanyahu’s request to free the Israeli spy Pollard in return for adopting the Framework agreement and freeing Arab Israeli prisoners.

Furthermore, Israeli officials told Reshet Bet that talks are facing a real danger, and that if an agreement is not reached regarding prisoners, the peace talks may collapse altogether. They added that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not softened his stance on the issue of prisoners despite US President Barack Obama’s request, but rather adopted an even more hardline stance.