Israel's Cabinet agreed Sunday to release 250 Palestinian
prisoners in the latest attempt to strengthen Western-backed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas' seizure of the
Gaza Strip.
"I think this is a worthy gesture to make... because we want to
use any means that can reinforce moderate elements in the
Palestinian Authority," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Cabinet
in broadcast remarks.
Olmert had pledged to free prisoners of Abbas' Fatah movement in
a June 25 summit with the Palestinian leader as part of a Western
campaign to bolster the new administration he named after sacking a
unity government with Hamas Islamists.
But Olmert assured the Cabinet he would not free "prisoners with
blood on their hands" - Israel's term for Palestinians jailed for
deadly attacks against Israelis.
A government official said the Cabinet voted 18 to 6 in favor of
a motion to release 250 prisoners.
A final release roster will be put together by a committee. Once
the Israeli list is approved, it could still take days before
prisoners are freed since Israel would allow 48 hours for the
releases to be challenged in petitions to the Supreme Court.
Previous prisoner releases have raised opposition from groups
representing families of Israelis harmed in Palestinian attacks.
Palestinians regard prisoners held by Israel as heroes of what they
call resistance against occupation.
Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Abbas, welcomed the Israeli
decision but urged it to draw up the list of those to be freed in
coordination with the Palestinians.
"The prisoner issue needs more than gestures to be resolved,
however, we welcome the release of prisoners any time," he
said.
Officials estimate there are at least 10,000 Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails.
Political prisoners
An official in Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's office
disclosed that new Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak held talks
with the Western-backed economist last week to discuss who would be
eligible for release.
Fayyad, the official said, pushed for "political prisoners" to
be freed.
Israeli officials said Sunday that Olmert, citing a desire to
support Abbas, had rejected a draft list largely limited to
prisoners nearing the end of their terms.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said release of only
Fatah-affiliated prisoners was part of an attempt by Abbas to
"reinforce the principle of separation" with Hamas.
The United States and European Union have been prodding Olmert
to nurture contacts with Abbas' emergency government in the hope of
resuming long-stalled peace talks.
Olmert told the Cabinet that bolstering Palestinian moderates
could "encourage them to move in the direction we believe can
create conditions for the start of substantial dialogue".
(China Daily via agencies July 9, 2007)
