Israel-Palestine: the situation is far from honest

Israeli Prime Minister &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/04/08/27430.html ' target=_blank>Ariel Sharon said yesterday that his government will not release more &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14946_.html ' target=_blank>Palestinian prisoners until the Palestinian Authority takes tougher action against militant groups -- the latest sign of trouble for an already strained ceasefire.

Israeli and Palestinian officials discussed the prisoner issue yesterday, but their meeting ended in disagreement. Palestinians charged that Israel is breaking a truce that has drastically reduced violence, endangering its continuation and weakening Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, publishes the Globe and Mail.

The Israelis repeated Mr. Sharon's statement from a cabinet meeting a few hours earlier, where he said he would instruct his negotiators to make it clear to the Palestinians that no more prisoners will be released until militants are controlled, participants said.