Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners ahead of Kerry's visit

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greeted the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel in Ramallah with a pledge to continue pressing for the release of other long serving and sick prisoners.
He said on Tuesday after the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners by Israeli government, that his government would not sign a final peace deal with Israel before all the prisoners were released.
"We promise you this will not be the last time and there will be more groups of heroes coming to us frequently in the near future, God willing," Abbas said.
Reuters reports that Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners as part of a U.S. brokered package that in July revived peace talks after a three-year break.
It said Tuesday's release was the third of four groups to go free and coming ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the region on Wednesday to meet Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Marie Harf, United States State Department spokeswoman said the release was a "positive step forward".
She said it was seeking to broker an agreement on a "two-state solution" in which Israel would exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state.
Harf said Kerry, who had set a nine-month target date for a deal, wanted the sides to agree on a framework deal that could launch another year of talks leading to a peace treaty. 

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