Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Monday after the announcement of the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of a U.S.-backed peace talk deal Reuters reported.
In an agreement with the U.S. in August, Israel said it would free 104 Palestinian inmates at four different times when negotiations toward peace talks resumed after almost three years following a dispute over Jewish settlement construction on land Palestinians want as a state, Reuters reported.
The prisoners to be released have been jailed for over 20 years, since 1993, for violence. Twenty-six prisoners were previously released, making this the second group returning to Palestine, Reuters reported.
Of the two rockets that were fired, one was shot down by their missile defense system, military officials told the Associated Press. The Israeli army said the rocket was intercepted above the city of Ashkelon and the military was searching for the second rocket.
The inmates are due to be released on Wednesday; 21 are from the occupied West Bank, and five are from the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters. A statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Monday said "Israelis would have 48 hours to appeal the names on the list" that was published Sunday.
The second phase of Palestinian prisoner release has caused disagreements between Israeli officials, according to the AP. The cabinet rejected Netanyahu's far-right allies proposal for legislation preventing future prisoner releases on Sunday as peace talks have shown no signs of progress.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel, one of Netanyahu's allies who sponsored the rejected bill, said the freeing of prisoners charged with attacking or killing Israelis "does not contribute to peace and only leads to more terrorism," according to Reuters.
Israel's chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, said in a response that Ariel's party does not want negotiations and if they have another solution to tell them what it is, according to Reuters.
The peace talks can take a turn for the worst as Israel published a plan this past Thursday to expand settlements in the already occupied West Bank in an effort to override objections to prisoner releases, Reuters reported
The Israeli government said along with the release of the prisoners names any prisoner who resumes hostility against Israel following his release will be arrested and serve the rest of their sentence, the AP reported.
