WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (AFP) - Israel's possible release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be welcome, the US State Department said Thursday, just days ahead of a landmark Middle East peace summit.
"Actions such as this are important and welcome in that they are -- help, I think, sustain and maintain momentum in engagement between the parties," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.
Top Israeli ministers on Thursday approved a pullback from five West Bank cities and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, although Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat said later there was still no consensus on the matter.
The gestures came ahead of next Tuesday's key meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in what is set to be the most high-profile session between the two sides in more than four years.
"So, in that sense these kinds of actions are important, are noteworthy, and are, I think, to be commended when they occur."
"They help build confidence and trust between the parties," Ereli said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit Israel and the West Bank on Sunday and Monday.
"And this is the kind of thing that Secretary Rice will be working on when she goes out there," Ereli said.
The summit, set for Tuesday, is to be the first between Israeli and Palestinian leaders since 2000, and the clearest indication yet of tangible progress in the peace process, which ran aground after the so-called road map plan was launched in 2003.
02/03/2005 20:52 GMT - AFP