Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert promised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make several more goodwill gestures by the end of this month, including the release of some prisoners, Palestinian sources said on Wednesday.
The promises were given Tuesday during a meeting between the two men in Jerusalem, added the sources who are close to the meeting.
According to the sources, Abbas asked Olmert to offer more facilities to the Palestinian residents of West Bank, especially those who go to pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Abbas also urged Olmert to order the lifting of some checkpoints in the West Bank to ease the movement of the residents between the villages and cities of the territory. Olmert reportedly promised to take steps in this regard.
The sources revealed that Abbas insisted that Israel should free prominent Palestinian leaders, like Marwan al-Barghouti, a senior leader of Abbas' Fatah movement, in any goodwill gesture. Olmert promised to do so by the end of this month.
Olmert is resigning as a prime minister due to corruption indictment. However, he will stay in office until a new cabinet is formed.
Since the U.S. succeeded to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in November, Abbas and Olmert have been meeting on biweekly basis.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams have also held tens of meetings, hoping to reach a peace deal before the end of this year to create a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel.
But the continuation of the Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, which will be part of the future statehood, and the violence blocked the progress of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the sources said that Olmert has warned Abbas that Israel will withdraw from the peace talks if Abbas made reconciliation with Islamic Hamas movement which now controls the Gaza Strip.
Egypt works to strike a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement to end the political split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Last year, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip after routing pro-Abbas forces.
Olmert said that Israel will tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip if Abbas agreed to reconcile with Hamas and will withdraw from an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in the strip.
The ceasefire, took effect in June, calls on Israel to ease the blockade of the Gaza Strip in exchange for calmness. Hamas is committed to the deal and Israel gradually - but slowly- eases the embargo.
Source: Xinhua
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