Outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert pledged today to free 250 Palestinian prisoners in a bid to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip.
The prisoners, a fraction of the 11,000 Palestinians held, will be released in the occupied West Bank, where Mr Abbas's government holds sway, before next month's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, officials said after the two leaders met.
Israeli spokesman David Baker called the release a "goodwill gesture" to Mr Abbas, who launched peace talks with Mr Olmert a year ago after Gaza's violent takeover by Hamas.
Mr Baker said Israel would release prisoners from the ranks of Abbas's secular Fatah faction and other non-Islamist groups.
The US-sponsored talks, rejected by Hamas, have shown little outward sign of progress. Negotiators cite disputes over violence in the Gaza Strip, the fate of Jerusalem and the expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land.
Nearly 200 prisoners were freed by Israel in August. Such releases are highly emotive for Palestinians, who regard prisoners as symbols of resistance to Israeli occupation.
Israel did not say if it would consider freeing high-profile Fatah inmates such as uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi, who is seen as a possible successor to Mr Abbas as Palestinian president.
Mr Abbas faces a balancing act in the Gaza Strip. He must condemn an Israeli-led blockade for making life harder for 1.5 million Palestinians, but he may benefit if it weakens Hamas.
In their talks in Jerusalem, Mr Abbas urged Israel to abide by a five-month-old Egyptian-brokered truce with Hamas that has come close to collapse during two weeks of cross-border violence.
At a press conference later with visiting British foreign secretary David Miliband, Mr Abbas repeated his call on Palestinian factions to stop firing "useless" rockets into southern Israel.
Before flying on to Damascus, Mr Miliband told Mr Abbas he saw 2009 as a chance to advance the various peace processes across the Middle East, including nascent talks with Syria.
Mr Abbas has termed Israel's tightened blockade of the Gaza Strip a "war crime". Mr Olmert told him there was "no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip", and Israel would not let one develop.
Reuters