Olmert tells Abbas he will back prisoner release ahead of Ramadan - Haaretz

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		PM Ehud Olmert meeting with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian PM Salam Fayad in Jerusalem on Monday. (GPO)

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Last update - 00:28 11/09/2007

Olmert tells Abbas he will back prisoner release ahead of Ramadan

By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Monday to recommend the release of Palestinian prisoners ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem.

Israeli government official Jacob Galanti said Olmert promised to recommend that authorities release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners for Ramadan, which begins this week. The recommendation still needs approval from defense officials, he added.

In a potential sign of progress, the leaders also agreed to set up negotiating teams to work on some of the key issues that would have to be resolved as part of a peace agreement, said Galanti.

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He said the teams would discuss such matters as water, the environment, energy and economic issues. However, he made no mention of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem.

The Israeli team will include two senior Olmert aides and will attempt to reach a joint declaration to be made at the November meeting, a government official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to discuss sensitive diplomacy with the press.

Galanti also said that Israeli officials would decide next week on the lifting of roadblocks and other travel restrictions in the West Bank. Palestinians say the roadblocks, which Israel says are necessary security measures, are strangling their economy.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas had asked Israel to remove 16 major West Bank checkpoints, though Olmert made no firm commitment. Erekat added that he expected the prisoner release to take place during the first week of Ramadan.

Erekat confirmed the leaders agreed to form working teams to work on achieving the two-state solution. He said they would meet again within two weeks.

The three-hour meeting between Olmert and Abbas was the latest in a series of talks between the men aimed at reaching a declaration of principles ahead of the conference, expected in November. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad also took part in the meeting.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said the talks, which took place in Jerusalem, sought to lay the ground for next week's planned visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

While Abbas is pushing for a detailed document that will include a precise timetable for implementing an agreement, Olmert prefers a one-page document that lists five general principles that will serve as guidelines.

Miri Eisin, an Israeli government spokeswoman, stressed that Monday's talks were not formal peace negotiations. Instead, she said the leaders were discussing concepts meant to lead to final-status talks.

"We're trying to bring about the practical steps that will lead to a two-state solution," she said.

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1.	Meeting for peace	07:40	\|	Denton	10/09/07

2.	What`s the Point?	07:51	\|	Mark of Lewiston	10/09/07

3.	Hamas should help in painless ending of the Israeli occupation:	08:53	\|	Uzi	10/09/07

4.	There can never be any separate Arab political entity	09:02	\|	Uzi	10/09/07

5.	How can Abbas ask for details when he demonstrates over and over	10:53	\|	Dafna	10/09/07

6.	abbas the beggar says i deserve $10 but you only put a nickel in	11:19	\|	victor hardman	10/09/07

7.	Have the Palestinians internalized that Israel is here by	13:31	\|	An Israeli Socialist	10/09/07

8.	Abbas Buys More Zionist Hogwash	14:42	\|	Hani	10/09/07

9.	Uzi the Parrot: Give it a Rest	14:53	\|	Khalil	10/09/07

10.	We know Israel wants peace	15:00	\|	H50	10/09/07

11.	To #8...All I can do is hope that you are right	15:05	\|	The Happy Zionist	10/09/07

12.	Abbas should prove that he is able to stop terror!	15:35	\|	Vittorio	10/09/07

13.	Listen up, Hani	15:40	\|	Denton	10/09/07

14.	8hani"...for a box full of cash..." Like a bird in the hand-	15:50	\|	common sense	10/09/07

15.	Denton	16:22	\|	Hani	10/09/07

16.	A meaningless meeting	16:25	\|	spyguy	10/09/07

17.	Denton, Furthermore...	16:28	\|	Hani	10/09/07

18.	To # 8	16:59	\|	Bar kohba	10/09/07

19.	WHERE IS HAMAS?	17:48	\|	indrajaya	10/09/07

20.	To Hani....who are you kidding? Aspirations for human and tech	17:53	\|	Happy Zionist	10/09/07

21.	to no 1.	17:54	\|	DANNY	10/09/07

22.	It`s all take, take,take with the Palestinians	18:05	\|	Moshe	10/09/07

23.	You are still missing the point, Hani!	18:23	\|	Denton	10/09/07

24.	No release without our 3!	18:56	\|	bat yam	10/09/07

25.	Olmert giving away the Temple Mount too	19:01	\|	Jonathan S	10/09/07

26.	Palestinian prisoner release	19:11	\|	Jane	10/09/07

27.	what do we get for Rosh H. & Yom K???	19:30	\|	ross	10/09/07

28.	H50 Hitler also said he wanted peace	19:53	\|	KA	10/09/07

29.	Release Dana Olmert immediately,her Ramallah beloved yearns for	19:54	\|	Absolute Sweden	10/09/07

30.	#4 Uzi	19:59	\|	Boycott	10/09/07

31.	Has Abbas demonstrated that he is capable of:	20:01	\|	Yair Halevi	10/09/07

32.	Release Shalit first!!!	20:05	\|	Igor D.	10/09/07

33.	Impressive that this dialogue is leading towards	20:10	\|	Smadar	10/09/07

34.	#3 .Uzi. Why do you bother explaning such	20:10	\|	Harisson	10/09/07

35.	#7.Demand, Demand, Demand is for the STOLEN,STOLEN,STOLEN, Lands	20:24	\|	Filistine	10/09/07

36.	Olmert`s goodwill gesture.	20:29	\|	Baruch Hashem	10/09/07

37.	All of us Arabs know that nothing	20:36	\|	Moez	10/09/07

38.	#11. Wait for the pay back. wait.	20:42	\|	The Observer	10/09/07

39.	Mark of Lewiston	20:44	\|	Danite	10/09/07

40.	how about Gilad???	20:59	\|	vik	10/09/07

41.	#10..H50	21:11	\|	Nemesis	10/09/07

42.	Release Shalit now	21:24	\|	KUTW	10/09/07

43.	Prime Cut	21:30	\|	David	10/09/07

44.	Uzi of Haifa	21:38	\|	Lynn	10/09/07

45.	Shake hands and smile for the camera	21:50	\|	Enlightened American	10/09/07

46.	Will Abbas back Shalit´s release ahead of Rosh HaShanah?	22:09	\|	Alice of Wonderland	10/09/07

47.	I WONDER WHICH SIDE OLMERT IS ON	22:12	\|	* BEN JABO	10/09/07

48.	How about Shalit release by Rosh Hashana?	22:16	\|	Dave from Chicago	10/09/07

49.	An act of peace	22:42	\|	Elinor	10/09/07

50.	#24 - Palestinians sacrificed many lives for peace	22:48	\|	Pita	10/09/07

51.	Dear Lynn, could you please consider some facts?	23:18	\|	Uzi	10/09/07

52.	Borders have always been there	23:23	\|	Chick	10/09/07

53.	Gilad Shalit	23:23	\|	Nemesis	10/09/07

54.	#30 Filistine	01:21	\|	* BEN JABO	11/09/07

55.	to #42 i wonder which side olmert is on?	01:21	\|	chaim schonbrun	11/09/07

56.	What the he....	01:43	\|	Daniel	11/09/07

57.	Abbas demands and Olmert gives	01:47	\|	Connie	11/09/07

58.	35 Danite	02:05	\|	Mark of Lewiston	11/09/07

59.	#57..Connie	02:05	\|	Nemesis	11/09/07

60.	Nemesis	02:43	\|	Connie	11/09/07

61.	8Hani,abbas should be brought to trial for treason against his	02:48	\|	lakshmi	11/09/07

62.	35 Filistin,not 242,but Res.181,which gives 44 % land.242 gives	02:57	\|	lakshmi	11/09/07

63.	#61..lakshmi	03:02	\|	Nemesis	11/09/07

64.	For every soldier that was wounded	19:41	\|	* BEN JABO	11/09/07

65.	#52 Chick	09:51	\|	* BEN JABO	12/09/07

66.	If only Olmert exerted the pressure on Shalit`s behalf	06:50	\|	* BEN JABO	13/09/07

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