170 Palestinian Inmates to Go Free

Israel said Sunday that it would free 170 jailed Palestinians in a gesture of gratitude for Egypt’s release two weeks ago of an Israeli Arab imprisoned for spying.

It would be the first sizable release of Palestinian prisoners in nearly a year and is meant as a conciliatory move toward the interim Palestinian leadership after the death of Yasser Arafat last month.

The prisoners would probably be freed next week, according to Israeli news reports.

Palestinian officials received the news with skepticism, saying previous releases by Israel have involved prisoners near the end of their sentences, most of whom were ordinary criminals rather than those jailed for political involvement.

“It would be useful to make these kinds of initiatives after dialogue and discussion with our side,” said Kadoura Fares, a Palestinian Cabinet member and lawmaker.

Israeli officials did not identify the prisoners to be released but said none had been involved in attacks against Israelis. Most were militants affiliated with Fatah, the dominant faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israeli media reported.

Israeli leaders decided against releasing members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the media reports.

In a statement, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Sunday’s move “a gesture of goodwill, friendship and gratitude” toward Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Two weeks ago, Mubarak freed Azzam Azzam, an Israeli citizen convicted of espionage by Egypt in 1997 -- charges that he and Israel steadfastly denied. In exchange, Israel released six Egyptian students suspected of plotting attacks inside Israel and promised to free Palestinian prisoners.

The planned release affects relatively few of the more than 7,000 Palestinians held by Israel. Most of those approved for release are so-called security prisoners and about 50 were arrested for entering Israel without permits, according to Israel Radio.

Israel has released prisoners from time to time, either as goodwill gestures or as part of negotiated deals.

In January, Israel freed more than 400 Palestinians and turned over the bodies of 59 Lebanese fighters in an exchange with the militant Hezbollah group. In return, Israel received the remains of three soldiers who went missing during fighting along the Lebanese border in 2000 and won release of an Israeli businessman who had been held by Hezbollah for more than three years.

Israel set free scores of Palestinian prisoners while Mahmoud Abbas was Palestinian prime minister last year, but Palestinian officials complained that most of the prisoners were near the end of their terms. Abbas quit after four months, partly in frustration over what he called empty gestures from Israel.

Abbas, newly named as Palestine Liberation Organization chairman, is favored to win election Jan. 9 as president of the Palestinian Authority. Israel sees him as a moderate and a pragmatist, and has vowed to withdraw soldiers and roadblocks from cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to make for a smooth vote. Ranking officials from the two sides met Sunday to discuss security arrangements for voting day.

Meanwhile, Sharon’s plan to bring the left-leaning Labor Party into his government ran into snags Sunday over granting a senior post to Labor’s leader, Shimon Peres.

Under an agreement worked out between Sharon’s conservative Likud Party and Labor, Peres was to be named to the Cabinet as vice premier, a stand-in for the prime minister. But the post is already occupied by Cabinet minister Ehud Olmert, and the creation of a second position requires new legislation, Likud officials said.

Sharon needs Labor to prevent the collapse of his government and ensure Israel’s planned withdrawal next year of Jewish settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and a portion of the West Bank.

A leading settler activist called on supporters Sunday to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience to block the pullout, which he called an “immoral” removal of Jews from their homes. “I am not afraid to go to jail, and I hope that many people will understand as I do that we are obligated to pay this price,” Pinhas Wallerstein wrote in a letter quoted by Israeli media.

Despite a two-day Israeli military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip that left 11 Palestinians dead and more than 30 wounded, Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets at Israeli targets. Early Sunday, a volley landed in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, injuring two Israeli civilians. The town, which sits near the northern border of the Gaza Strip, is a frequent target of Palestinian rocket strikes.