A group representing victims of Palestinian attacks asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to delay the planned release of 256 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The Almagor Terror Victims' Association said more time is needed to review the files of the prisoners.

From an initial inspection of the list, there are already some names of terrorists whose release is unreasonable, the group's leader, Meir Eindor, wrote in a letter.

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Almagor says 179 Israelis have been killed since 2000 by Palestinians freed in previous deals.

Cabinet ministers on Tuesday approved the list of Palestinian prisoners who are slated for release Friday as part of a series of goodwill gestures for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Most of the 256 are members of Abbas' Fatah movement.

Emi Palmor, director of pardons in the Justice Ministry, said Wednesday's legal challenge was unlikely to delay the release. She said the courts have always deferred to the government on such matters in the past, and that none of the prisoners have been involved in deadly attacks on Israelis.

IDF troops resume West Bank arrest raids after five-day lull
After a five-day lull in arrest raids in the West Bank, also planned as a gesture to Abbas, the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday morning resumed arresting wanted militants.

Nineteen Palestinians were arrested in Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus.

The arrests were focused on wanted men not among the 178 to whom Israel has offered amnesty in exchange for a vow to cease terrorist activities.

The IDF also curtailed offensive operations in West Bank cities in order to evaluate the capabilities and conduct of Abbas' Fatah security forces vis-a-vis militant groups. The PA's emergency government has vowed to check the activities of terror groups and curtail lawlessness.

Chief amongst the other gestures was Israel's decision on Tuesday to approve the prisoner release.

According to Palestinian sources, a total of 93 Al-Aqsa militants - 80 of them appearing on Israel's list of 178 - have signed the agreement and handed in their weapons, including Zakariya Zubeida, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades commander in Jenin.

The IDF Central Command responsible for the West Bank had, however, only been given oral instructions to cut back its raids on wanted men other than those listed in the amnesty agreement.

"For now, we have removed our foot from the gas pedal," military sources told Haaretz Sunday, referring to the level of intensity with which wanted militants in the West Bank are being hunted down.