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Olmert Releases 441 Palestinian Prisoners

Posted Nov 19, 07 9:23 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Ehud Olmert today requested the release of 441 Palestinian prisoners and promised to stop building new settlements on the West Bank, in the hope of bolstering Arab enthusiasm for upcoming talks on Palestinian statehood. But the gesture was received coolly: Mahmoud Abbas had asked for 2,000 prisoners, and the West Bank offer, which did not cover expansion of existing settlements, showed no new concessions, Reuters reports.

"If Olmert does not halt 'natural growth' then nothing has changed," said one Abbas aide. Olmert also reiterated a promise to remove unauthorized settler-built outposts but gave no timetable. The prisoners, all members of Abbas’ Fatah wing “without blood on their hands,” could be free by Friday, pending ministerial review.

Sources Reuters, Al Jazeera

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, right, walks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, left, to attend the weekly cabinet meeting, at Fayyad's office in the West Bank...   (Associated Press)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. Olmert on Monday told his Cabinet that he will remove unauthorized settlement outposts in...   (Associated Press)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addresses the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. Olmert on Monday told his Cabinet that he will remove unauthorized settlement outposts in...   (Associated Press)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, left, attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. Israel's Cabinet on Monday debated a proposed...   (Associated Press)
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Israel • Palestine • Ehud Olmert • Mahmoud Abbas • Israel and Palestinians • West Bank • Annapolis


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