© REUTERS/ Suhaib SalemA freed Palestinian prisoner gestures upon his arrival near Erez crossing, between Israel and northern Gaza Strip, August 14, 2013
According to the agency, several buses left the Ayalon prison in central Israel late on Tuesday night carrying inmates, most of whom had been jailed for attacks on Israeli citizens.
Eleven of the 26 released prisoners were met in Ramallah, in the West Bank, by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, while 15 others were greeted by crowds in the Gaza Strip.
The long-term prisoners made up the first group of 104 people whom Israeli authorities pledged to release as an act of good will in regard to the Palestinian authorities.
The release of the prisoners comes ahead of the second round of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago Israel and Palestine resumed direct talks with US mediation after holding the first round of negotiations in Washington.
Moscow welcomes Israel's move as "an important humanitarian step," the Russian Foreign Ministry's press and information department said in a statement Wednesday.
"It is undoubtedly designed to facilitate the consolidation of trust between the sides at this crucial period," the statement said.
"We work on the assumption that such reciprocal gestures, not unilateral steps, are necessary to create a positive atmosphere and ensure success in the dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis," the ministry said.
...by the way of deception? How come that after Israeli government releases Palestinian prisoners as an "act of good will", the military assault on Palestinian people follows pretty much right after that? This pattern repeats again and again. Some examples below:
'By the spring of 2005, 500 of these had been released..." [Link]
and... "It is estimated that between 7,000 and 9,000 Israeli artillery shells were fired into Gaza between September 2005 and June 2006,", "Israel launched "Operation Summer Rains" in the Gaza Strip that began on 28 June 2006" [Link]
"On 25 August 2008, Israel released 198 prisoners in a "goodwill gesture" to encourage diplomatic relations and support Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas." [Link]
and... "The Palestinian death toll since 2000 reached over 4600 people, more than 1000 have been killed and about 5000 injured in the 2008-2009 Israeli offensive against Gaza alone. This offensive started in Saturday 2008-12-27 with massive air strikes on all Palestinian government buildings."
"In 2011, the Israeli government released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners..."
and "Israeli plains attack Gaza targets" _[Link]
Coincidence? Certainly not.