JERUSALEM, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Israel could release 100 Palestinian prisoners belonging to president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party on the occassion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year, an Israeli official said Tuesday.
"The prime minister is considering the release of 100 Fatah prisoners from the Gaza Strip as a gesture of goodwill towards Abbas ahead of Ramadan," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Ramadan will begin on September 12 or 13 in the Middle East this year depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
The official said that Abbas had requested the release during his last meeting with Olmert in Jerusalem last week and that Israeli officials were currently drawing a list of potential prisoners.
All of the prisoners will have at least one more year left to serve and will not have been involved in attacks that killed Israelis, the official said.
On July 20 as a gesture of support for Abbas, Israel released more than 250 of the more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners currently being detained by the Jewish state.
Israel has aimed to boost Abbas ever since the Islamist Hamas movement, sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, overran security forces loyal to the moderate president in the Gaza Strip on June 15.
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09/04/2007 14:54 GMT