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Last update - 19:03 30/11/2008
Cabinet approves releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners in gesture to Abbas
By Reuters
Tags: israel news, ehud olmert 

The cabinet on Sunday approved the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture toward Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The prisoners will be released to the West Bank, where Abbas's government holds sway, before next week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, officials said of the decision.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had promised to free the prisoners during a meeting earlier this month with Abbas, who launched peace talks with Israel a year ago after Gaza's violent takeover by Hamas.
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"This is a confidence-building measure," said Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev.

Regev said Israel will release prisoners from the ranks of Abbas's secular Fatah faction and other non-Islamist groups.

"This is a national priority for every Palestinian household," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, welcoming the cabinet decision.

He said Israel has yet to tell the Palestinians whether it would consider freeing high-profile Fatah inmates such as Marwan Barghouti, who is seen as a possible successor to Abbas as president.

Minister Gideon Ezra said the goal in releasing prisoners was to help Abbas "earn the cooperation of the population" without undermining Israeli security.

"Abu Mazen [Abbas], in the past few months, has made efforts that we've never seen before, including trying to stop terrorism," Ezra said, referring to arrests made by Abbas's forces. "It's our commitment to do everything possible...to make it easier for him."

Nearly 200 prisoners were freed by Israel in August. U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Olmert and Abbas, rejected by Hamas, have shown little sign of progress.

Israel will also have to begin releasing the "bargaining chips" it arrested in 2006 in order to trade them for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit: Dozens of Hamas parliamentarians, along with several Hamas ministers, will have to be released within the next year, even if no deal for Shalit is struck, because they will have finished serving their two- to three-year sentences.

All of the detained Hamas officials are on the list of prisoners Hamas is demanding in exchange for Shalit, and Israel has no objection to including them in the swap. Thus far, however, there has been no significant progress in the negotiations, senior defense officials said.

The officials said that while Hamas recently responded to Israel's latest proposal, the gap between the sides remains large. Altogether, Hamas is demanding Israel free 1,400 prisoners, including 350 it has specified by name. Most of these 350 were convicted of involvement in major terror attacks, and Israel has thus far agreed to release only 150 of them.


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      1.   And Gilad Shalit remains imprisoned!!!!! 17:11  |  Arie 30/11/08
      2.   Meanwhile Gilad Shalit rots in jail 17:53  |  Mike 30/11/08
      3.   This cabinet is very wrong, Wheres Shalit in this 18:13  |  Shepherd 30/11/08
      4.   L`enfer c`est les autres 19:12  |  Steve 30/11/08
      5.   Please explain why..... 19:18  |  Lily 30/11/08
      6.   This would have helped 3 years ago 20:15  |  Mark Lincoln 30/11/08
      7.   Goodwill Measure? 20:26  |  Mark 30/11/08
      8.   Why one-sided gestures? 21:02  |  Nathaniel 30/11/08
      9.   A gesture for what? 21:28  |  ChanahS 30/11/08
      10.   WICKED Israeli Cabinet Response to Mumbai Massacre 21:32  |  Linda Rivera 30/11/08
      11.   Cabinet approves releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners in gesture t 22:01  |  martin list, m.d. 30/11/08
      12.   Israel`s lack of self-respect 22:18  |  Betg 30/11/08
      13.   Israel`s lack of self-respect 22:20  |  Beth 30/11/08
      14.   Get Out Of Jail Free card - Just like Monopoly! 22:35  |  Avi 30/11/08
      15.   Olmert released arabs prisoners so Olmert could spend time in pri 23:12  |  Joseph.E 30/11/08
      16.   Equality ? : 1400 Arabs = 1 IDF soldier !!!!!! 23:36  |  Joseph.E 30/11/08
      17.   Peres with the Axis of Evil` Authority Must be Curbed 23:51  |  Joseph.E 30/11/08
      18.   Who Bears Accountability for this so called Goodwill Gestures 23:55  |  Joseph.E 30/11/08
      19.   lily 00:04  |  A.M. 01/12/08
      20.   Releasing Pals. 00:19  |  Morad 01/12/08
      21.   Olmert Follies 00:23  |  Ron 01/12/08
      22.   1000 goodwill gestures zero Gilad 00:47  |  zionist forever 01/12/08
      23.   Gesture 01:19  |  Baz Mann 01/12/08
      24.   A real two finger salute 01:22  |  Gideon Reader 01/12/08
      25.   I WISH I WAS ABBASS! 01:33  |  jewish doctor 01/12/08
      26.   Gesture for JUSTICE 01:37  |  Kevin 01/12/08
      27.   Israel is governed by a coalition of impotents & idiots, 2nd try! 02:48  |  Emanuel 01/12/08
      28.   Soon there will be an election. Livni=MORE OF SAME:::BIBI=CHANGE 03:58  |  EL 01/12/08
      29.   Olmert trying the impossible ! 04:47  |  Akram Zekaria 01/12/08
      30.   fairly empty gesture 06:02  |  rm 01/12/08
      31.   Who bears accountability? We do. 06:22  |  Steve 01/12/08
      32.   Olmert`s Goodwill Gestures with NOTHING in return... 07:47  |  Dagma 01/12/08
      33.   A Confidence- building Measure .....? 08:14  |  Natasha 01/12/08
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