Sharon approves prisoners' release

JERUSALEM -- Responding to threats against government ministers, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered law enforcement agencies Sunday to crack down on Jewish extremists opposed to the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.\nCabinet ministers said the charged climate is reminiscent of the period before the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and one minister warned that Sharon himself could become a target.\nDespite those concerns, Sharon's Cabinet approved a list of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in coming days, and several hundred Palestinian workers were permitted to return to jobs in Israel in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit last week.\nPalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, was to present a new Cabinet to his Fatah movement for approval Tuesday. Abbas was expected to appoint new interior, foreign and information ministers but keep on many current government members, officials said.\nIsraeli officials have voiced concerns about extremist opposition to the pullout plan for months. But with this summer's planned withdrawal quickly approaching and a recent warming of ties with the Palestinians, the level of alarm has been raised.\nSharon instructed law enforcement agencies to report back to the Cabinet as soon as possible with steps that can be taken to "rein in the violent rampage" of extremists opposing his plan, a statement said.\nSeveral Cabinet ministers said they have received threatening letters in recent days, and last week Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his tires slashed and slurs shouted at him while attending a wedding.\nNetanyahu, a former prime minister, was targeted just days after Education Minister Limor Livnat was whisked away from an event where she was screamed at by hard-line Jews.\nExtremists also have put up posters across the country with implicit death threats to Sharon. The posters say Rabin and Sharon's wife, Lily, who is deceased, are "waiting for Sharon."\nMeir Sheetrit, one of the ministers to receive a threatening letter, said every step should be taken to punish those behind the threats.\n"It sets off a warning light, and we should take tangible steps before there is another political murder," he said.\nCabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer presented the ministers a copy of a letter he received. The letter described the Iraqi-born Ben-Eliezer as "the epitome of evil, a miserable Iraqi, a Nazi with Arab blood. You love Arabs more than Jews."\nBen-Eliezer then said to the ministers, "I am telling you: They will try to kill the prime minister," according to the Haaretz daily.\nSharon was outraged.\n"I am shocked by this savagery. We need to take immediate practical steps," Sharon was quoted as saying before ordering police, legal authorities and security commanders to take action.\nAt Sunday's meeting, the Cabinet approved the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners in the near future, one of a series of agreements reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt.\nIsrael will also allow several dozen Palestinian militants who were expelled from the West Bank to return to their homes and gradually hand five West Bank towns to Palestinian control.\nSenior commanders from both sides were meeting late Sunday to coordinate the hand over of the first town, Jericho, to Palestinian control, Army Radio reported.\nIn line with the summit agreements, Israel will release another 400 Palestinian prisoners within three months.\nThe Palestinian prisoners to be freed constitute only a small fraction of the estimated 8,000 in Israeli jails. Palestinians are demanding that all be freed, while Israeli officials insist that with few exceptions, prisoners with "blood on their hands" cannot be considered.