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Last update - 18:41 30/10/2008
Hamas frees 17 Fatah prisoners as 'goodwill' ahead of unity talks
By Reuters
Tags: Israel News, Hamas, Prisoners 

Hamas released 17 jailed members of the rival Fatah faction on Thursday, describing the men for the first time as political prisoners and saying it set them free as a goodwill gesture before Palestinian unity talks.

"In order to provide a healthy atmosphere for the dialogue, we decided to free all political prisoners in our custody in Gaza," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said during a graduation ceremony for police recruits.

He put the number of those prisoners at "nearly 20". Fatah, which lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in fighting in June 2007, has said dozens of its members have been jailed since the Islamist group's takeover of the territory.
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Several hours after Haniyeh spoke, Reuters correspondents saw 17 Fatah men walking out of prison.

"With the release of the 17 political prisoners, we declare an end to political detention in Gaza," said Taher al-Nono, spokesman for the Hamas government in the territory.

Egypt has invited 13 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, to reconciliation talks in Cairo on Nov. 9. Haniyeh said he was "cautiously optimistic" about prospects for success.

Hamas had said that Fatah members taken into custody in the Gaza Strip had committed criminal acts and it had denied any political motivation in arresting them.

Fahmi al-Zaarir, a Fatah spokesman, said Haniyeh had finally acknowledged that the group "has been abducting Fatah men in Gaza because of their political opinions and nothing else."

Hamas says Fatah security services in the West Bank are holding 400 of its supporters.

"We urge Fatah to reciprocate and free Hamas members jailed there," Nono said.

Hamas urged Egypt to amend a reconciliation proposal it had sent to all Palestinian factions ahead of the Nov. 9 talks in line with reservations made by the Islamist group.

"The Egyptian paper is a proposal for discussion and not a final draft for signing and implementation. It has a positive goal but there are fundamental remarks on its content that must be taken in consideration," Hamas official Salah Al-Bardaweel told a news conference in Gaza.

A Palestinian official, involved in the talks, said Cairo rejected to make amendments to its proposal, raising fears reservations by factions, including Hamas, could cast a shadow over chances of success.

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