Jerusalem, Aug 04: Israel's cabinet has raised the number of Palestinian prisoners lined up for release to almost 1,000, public radio said, as an Israeli woman and her three children were hurt in a Jerusalem shooting. The radio yesterday said another 442 Palestinians would be released, in addition to the 540 prisoners -- including 210 members of the radical groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas -- already lined up to be freed.
The releases will start on Wednesday, with administrative detainees, security prisoners, illegal workers and criminals making up the new list, the radio said.
Israel's army radio said around 200 of the latest group were also members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but Israeli officials were not immediately available to confirm the reports.
The Palestinians have been pushing for the release of all their estimated 6,000 prisoners in Israeli jails.
In southern Jerusalem late yesterday, a 40-year-old woman was seriously wounded and her three children were also hurt as Palestinian gunmen fired on their car, Israeli emergency service officials said.
The woman's daughter, nine, was shot in the leg, while the other children were only lightly hurt by shrapnel, public radio said. The attack took place near Gilo, a Jewish neighbourhood built on annexed Palestinian land.
The shooting comes exactly a month after the Israeli army pulled out of the nearby West Bank town of Bethlehem and surrounding villages, as part of a deal to transfer security responsibility to Palestinian security forces. Bureau Report