JERUSALEM - Israel will delay until Monday the release of more than 400 Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to be freed on Sunday, the head of the prison administration said.
"The release of the prisoners has been put off until Monday morning," Yaron Zamir said on Saturday, adding that they will be freed from Kesiot prison in the Neguev Desert.
He did not say why the move had been delayed.
Army radio added that the prisoners will be taken either to the Erez crossing point into the Gaza Strip or to Beitunya, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, where they will be set free.
On Wednesday, Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Ashraf al-Ajrami said the Israelis had officially informed the Palestinian side that 445 prisoners would be released.
An official at Ajrami's ministry said 429 of them are from the West Bank and 16 from Gaza.
Last week Israel published a list of 431 prisoners who were to be released ahead of Tuesday's US-sponsored peace meeting in Annapolis. The Israeli cabinet had approved the release as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Most of the detainees are from Abbas's Fatah party and none have been implicated in attacks that killed Israelis.
Israel currently has more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners. It freed 86 in early October and more than 250 in July.
jp/al
12/01/2007 16:44 GMT