Israel approves release of 900 Palestinian prisoners

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Cabinet ministers on Thursday approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners and a military pullout from the West Bank town of Jericho within days in overtures intended to improve the climate ahead of next week's Mideast summit.\nThe ministers also approved an earlier decision by the army chief to halt the targeted killings of wanted Palestinian fugitives and agreed to form a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee to decide what to do about them.\nThe 900 prisoners represent about one-eighth of the total number of prisoners Israel holds. The decision to withdraw only from quiet Jericho falls short of expectations that ministers would approve the evacuation of five West Bank towns, but followed the Israeli government's decision this week to slow the pullout after a brief outbreak in violence.\nPalestinians and Israelis both said Thursday they expect the summit in Egypt to produce a truce ending more than four years of violence.\nA joint declaration of a cessation of violence is one of the first requirements in the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state this year.\n"We are not talking about peace now, and not about the 'road map,' but rather about phases that come before implementation of the 'road map,'" participants quoted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying at Thursday's meeting.\nIn his State of the Union address Wednesday, President Bush expressed hopes for a peace agreement and said he would seek $350 million in aid to the Palestinians.\n"The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach, and America will help them achieve that goal," he said.\nIsraeli and Palestinian officials welcomed the comments. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the government was "totally on board" with Bush's vision.\nMaher Masri, the Palestinian trade minister, said: "The trend of the U.S. administration is very positive."\nEarlier in the day, both sides sounded optimistic about truce prospects.\n"I hope that a cease-fire will be declared, a halt to all violent acts," Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Army Radio.\nPalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, returning to the West Bank after a five-country trip, said he has already won an agreement from militants to halt attacks and expects Israel to respond positively.\nPRISONERS "We have announced a cease-fire, and the Israelis should announce one also," he said.\nSharon and Abbas on Wednesday accepted an Egyptian offer to attend the regional summit, raising hopes for a breakthrough in Mideast peace efforts.\nIn Thursday's meeting, the Cabinet ministers approved the release of 500 prisoners immediately after the summit. An additional 400 prisoners are to be freed within three months. In all, an estimated 7,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons.\nSpeaking to reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Abbas said he wanted Palestinians who have served long terms to be included in the first round of the release.\nIn Thursday's meeting, the Israeli ministers said prisoners convicted in attacks on Israelis would not be freed.\nThe Jericho withdrawal could take place before the summit, but approval was largely window-dressing. Jericho has been quiet during the fighting, and troops have moved into the town only a few times to make arrests.\nUnder the new arrangements, troops would need Palestinian approval before entering the town, and Palestinian police would be allowed to carry weapons, Israeli security officials said. Roadblocks around Jericho are expected to remain in place, they added.\nDefense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the ministers that Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Tulkarem would be handed over next, and that Ramallah, the Palestinians' center of government, would be last, participants said. They said each pullout would need to be approved separately by the security Cabinet.