According to a minister from Israel, the country agreed to release a limited number of Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestine. The declaration happened the day after John Kerry, the Secretary of State of the U.S., talked about reviving peace talks and creating bold moves for peace.
"This is a significant and welcome step forward," commented Kerry regarding the release. "This establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between" Palestine and Israel, said the secretary last Friday in Amman, Jordan.
The Minister of Israel's Strategic Affairs told reporters that the prisoner release today was "a goodwill gesture". The announcement was made by Yuval Steinitz in a discussion held in Ramat Gan, Israel.
According to past studies, Palestine has been experiencing an exponential increase in unemployment due to Israel's tight policies of movement restrictions. The contested areas of Gaza Strip and West Ban have comparatively high unemployment rates than Israel, which is among the lowest in the region.
The move of Israel to release the Palestinian prisoners might be the catalyst to a change in the economic atmosphere in the conflicted area, analysts said.
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