Israel to consider release of 100 Islamic militants

2.00pm

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon planned to seek government approval today to release 100 Palestinian militants ahead of his visit to Washington, Israeli political sources said.

The 100 prisoners, who were not involved in attacks on Israelis, would be added to a list of several hundred Palestinians set for release this week, a source said.

"The government will consider the release of an additional 100 prisoners who belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad but do not have blood on their hands," the source told Reuters.

Sharon is due to meet US President George W Bush on Tuesday to discuss implementation of a US-backed peace "road map", which envisages a Palestinian state by 2005.

A senior Israeli government source said Israel sought to release the prisoners in order to strengthen Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who Islamic militants accuse of capitulating to the Jewish state.

"All in all I believe 600 to 650 prisoners will be liberated... The main aim here is to strengthen Abu Mazen's standing," the source told Reuters.

Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, met with Bush on Friday in his first visit to Washington since being appointed Prime Minister in April under heavy US pressure.

Palestinian officials said yesterday that Abbas could fend off his critics if his visit to Washington led to Israel implementing a US-backed peace plan.

Palestinian militants, who called a three-month ceasefire in June, said comments by Bush during Abbas' visit showed the United States cared only for Israeli concerns.

"This visit proves that the American position is still to support only Sharon," Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi said.

"We did not expect any good results from this visit because the United States does not care about our hopes and our goals."

Palestinian legislators had threatened a confidence vote if Abbas failed to convince Israel to withdraw from most of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and to release thousands of Palestinians from Israeli jails.

"His (Abbas') problem is with Israel's lack of implementation of the peace road map," parliamentarian Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Israel says Palestinians have not fulfilled their obligation in the road map to dismantle militant groups.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said Israel would continue building a "separation fence" in the West Bank despite criticism from Bush, who called it a problem that would hamper efforts to build trust between Israelis and Palestinians.

"The fence is for security and nothing more. There is no other aim but preventing the infiltration of terrorists to Israel... It is being built every day... Maybe Sharon will convince him (Bush) it's not a problem," Pazner told Reuters.

Palestinians say the fence, which often slices through land east of the boundary between the West Bank and Israel, could effectively annex terrain and prejudice prospects for the road map -- and for an independent Palestinian state free of Israeli settlements.

Pazner said Sharon would also inform Bush of goodwill gestures Israel pledged to carry out. These include a pullback from two West Bank cities, the removal of several main roadblocks, and a promise to review ways to reduce hardships for Palestinians caused by the fence.

- REUTERS