Israel would release 250 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture towards Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an Israeli Government Spokesman said on Monday.
David Baker, Spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told Xinhua by phone that Olmert told Abbas in their Monday meeting in Jerusalem that he would release these Fatah prisoners for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha which falls at the beginning of next month.
Baker said that the exact date for the prisoner release has not yet been set.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials clarified that those who would gain freedom would include the prisoners who were involved in terror but belong to the moderate camp, and are not members of Hamas or the Islamic Jihad, according to local news service Ynet.
The release is part of Israel's effort to encourage the moderate forces and prove that such gestures can only be reached by taking the road of peace, said Ynet, adding that all the prisoners slated to be freed would be forced to sign a commitment that they would not return to the road of terror.
Before the 90-minute meeting between Premier Olmert and President Abbas, Palestinian officials disclosed that the two leaders would discuss the issue of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
In August, Israel released 198 Palestinian prisoners at Beitunya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, also as a goodwill gesture to President Abbas.
According to official figures, Israel holds more than 11,000 prisoners in its jails, most of whom were arrested during the second Intifada (uprising) which erupted against Israel in the Palestinian territories in late September 2000.
In addition to the issue of Palestinian prisoners, Premier Olmert and President Abbas also discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the US- sponsored peace talks, Baker told Xinhua.
According to the Spokesman, Premier Olmert said he was very concerned about the current escalating violence in Gaza, noting that Israel was prepared to take every measure to protect its citizens.
Ynet reported that during the meeting, President Abbas and his entourage stressed the importance of maintaining calm in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Premier Olmert, in turn, reiterated that Hamas was to be blamed for the violation of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire declared effective in June between Israel and Gaza militants, and warned the continued deterioration of the situation would eventually necessitate an Israeli response.
The five-month-old truce, which would expire next month, has been tested over the past two weeks by a surge of violence that has included Israeli raids and air strikes in Gaza and rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
Turning to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Baker said the two leaders agreed to meet again after Premier Olmert returns from his upcoming visit to Washington, without giving any details.
Under the US pressure, Premier Olmert and President Abbas agreed at a US- hosted international conference in Maryland's Annapolis in November 2007 to re-launch the stalled peace talks and to hammer out a comprehensive peace treaty before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
However, since Annapolis, the peace talks have made little substantial progress due to deep rifts on sensitive issues, including the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
With time running out, it became confirmed that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would not be reached this year.