The third stage of the prisoner release in December 2013 [Archive] (photo credit: Uri Lenz)

Following the meeting of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington earlier this week, Israel is warning it may cancel the fourth stage of the prisoner release if Abbas refuses to commit to a year-long extension of the current peace negotiations.

The fourth stage of the prisoner release is scheduled for the end of the month, and it is still unclear if Israel has plans to release Israel Arab prisoners, which U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry promised to the Palestinians.

Credit: Reuters, Roy Castro

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said about Abbas on Tuesday that “it is clear who is the one refusing. We proved that we are interested in moving forward with the process, and now, it is clear who is not ready. This is also beginning to be acknowledged among important officials in the international community.”

The Palestinians have already published a list of the prisoners to be released at the end of the month. According to the list, 14 Israeli Arabs from cities including Ramla, Kafr Qasim and Umm al-Fahm are set to be released.

Among those on the list published by the Palestinian Authority are Muhammad Jabarin, Yahya Agbaria and Ibrahim Agbaria, arrested in 1992 for taking part in the “Night of the Pitchforks,” during which they murdered three Israeli soldiers. Also listed is Karim Younis, who murdered Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1981.

Former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, currently in Israeli prison for his role in numerous deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis (photo credit: Reuters)

In Israel, no official list has been published, and any list will be reviewed by the government before it is released to the public.

Opposition to the fourth stage of the prisoner release is growing within the Israeli government. Habayit Hayehudi ministers have expressed a strong stance against the release, and several ministers from the Likud are echoing the sentiment.

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) threatened to quit if the fourth stage of the release is carried out. “If they are released, I will resign from my position,” he said.

Danon met with representatives of bereaved families on Wednesday in a final effort to prevent the prisoner release. “Today we see that nothing has happened,” he said after the meeting. “We are suckers. Israel is releasing murderers and getting nothing in return. The bereaved families’ representatives spoke very clearly.”

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) also opposes the release. “It is moral bankruptcy to release [former Fatah leader] Marwan Barghouti and his friends in order to continue the talks,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official from the Palestinian Authority’s Prisoners’ Affairs Ministry told Israel Hayom that “if Israel delays the fourth stage [of the prisoner release], at that instant, the negotiations will end.”

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Israel and the Palestinians are at “a tough period, a pivotal period of the negotiations.” When asked if the U.S. shared Abbas’ hope that the prisoner release will take place, she said yes, “because it’s part of what was agreed to between the parties.”

Representatives of bereaved families and the Almagor Terror Victims Association met on Tuesday with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Almagor head Meir Indor responded to the prisoner list published by the Palestinians, saying, “If what they published is true, it is a scandal, because we were promised by the High Court attorney that before the fourth stage happens, there would be an additional government meeting. By our count, there is no majority in favor of releasing [Israeli Arab] murderers.”