Jerusalem, July 06: In a move to further the Mideast peace process, the Israeli government today decided to conditionally release groups of Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli cabinet voted 13-8 in favour of the move, which is expected to strengthen the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas had made release of Palestinian prisoners his top demand while negotiating with Israelis.
"The release will be carried out in small numbers and will be conditioned on proof that the Palestinians are living up to their security commitments," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said after the cabinet meeting. "If there is no Palestinian authority determination to fight against terror and stop terror the release will stop," he said. Though it was not clear how many prisoners would be released, Israel's security service Shin Beth has reportedly drawn up a list of at least 200 prisoners recommended for release. Israel holds some 5000 Palestinian prisoners. The list does not include those belonging to radical groups, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a daily reported.
Before today's vote, Sharon told his cabinet that no Palestinian prisoner involved in murderous attacks against Israeli citizens would be released.
The release of prisoners, which is part of the international peace plan known as ''road map'' for peace, would apparently help Palestinian Prime Minister in consolidating his hold on Palestinian territories. Bureau Report