Israel announced Wednesday that it would release more Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by the end of August, local daily Ha'aretz reported on its website.
The decision was declared during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas in Jerusalem, which is the first since the prime minister said he would step down after his ruling Kadima party selects a new leader in September.
Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said after the meeting that "the Israeli side will be releasing Palestinian prisoners towards the end of August... as a gesture of goodwill to Abbas," according to the daily.
Israeli officials declined to name or provide the number of prisoners to be released. However, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel agreed to release a total of 150 prisoners, out of 11,000 or so in Israeli custody.
The Palestinian negotiation team had requested during the meeting that the released prisoners include former Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat, one of the masterminds behind the killing of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi, local daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The meeting, aiming at preparing the expected visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later this month, was also attended by the chief negotiators on both sides, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qureia.
The first part of the meeting was attended by the negotiations teams, while the second part was dedicated to a face-to-face meeting between Abbas and Olmert. The two agreed to meet again soon.
Earlier, Palestinian officials expressed their concerns over how the changes in Israel's leadership would affect peace talks when they meet Wednesday.
"The government must continue to function," Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev told Xinhua earlier this week, adding that Israel would make efforts to reach a historic compromise on some core issues, such as the status of Jerusalem.
Olmert, keen to talk up peace prospects as facing serious corruption allegations, said during the Mediterranean conference held two weeks ago that Israel and the Palestinians had never been so close to a peace accord.
"We are in the midst of negotiations with the Palestinians. We will continue the negotiations, they are important, they are serious, they are being conducted carefully and responsibly," Olmert told the conference.
Rice is due to arrive in Israel on August 20 as part of her near-last ditch effort to exert her influence on the negotiations before the United Nations convenes its annual General Assembly session next month.
According to a senior official in Israeli government, Rice wants to use the UN General Assembly to present a document summarizing the progress of the last nine months.
Source:Xinhua
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