Israel's Goodwill Gesture: 198 Palestinians Freed

JERUSALEM, Aug 25, 2008 — -- Israel released 198 Palestinian prisoners today as a gesture of support for Palestinian President Mohammad Abbas, who promptly told a crowd of supporters he would seek the release of Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist who is seen as a possible president of a future Palestinian state.

The prisoner release came hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel to renew her push for a Mideast peace deal by the end of the year.

In Ramallah, Abbas told cheering crowds at the prisoners' welcoming ceremony, "There will be no peace without the release of all Palestinians imprisoned in Israel."

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, he told the flag-wavng crowd, "We will not rest until the prisoners are freed and the jails are empty."

Abbas told them he would like to see prisoners with life sentences released and mentioned Barghouti, the leader of the armed group Tanzim, who is viewed as a future Palestinian president.

Barghouti is serving five consecutive life terms for his involvement in terror attacks that killed many Israelis, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Abbas also cited Ahmed Saadat, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who is responsible for the assassination of Hamas Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Duaik and tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi. Hamas is the main rival of Abbas' Fatah party.

An Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release said the criteria for releasing prisoners rules out the release of prisoners with "blood on their hands," meaning those who have killed Israelis. Nevertheless, two Palestinians "with blood on their hands" were among those released today.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told ABC News that Israel made an exception with the release of Muhammad Abu Ali and Said al-Atba. Both men were serving life sentences for killing numerous Israelis.

"These two prisoners were directly involved in murder," Regev told ABC News. "There was a special request from Abbas to bring about their release. Despite the difficulties, we decided to acquiesce to the request."

According to the Jerusalem Post, Abu Ali was imprisoned in 1980 for the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Danish immigrant. He was later convicted of killing a Palestinian in jail whom Abu Ali suspected of cooperating with Israel.