Israel releases seven Jordanian prisoners in gesture to Abdullah

JERUSALEM - Seven Jordanian prisoners were released by Israel on Thursday before crossing the border back to their homeland, the prison authority said.
Israel had announced Sunday it was to free nine Jordanians from its prisons as a goodwill gesture towards King Abdullah II. The two others have opted to stay in the West Bank on their release, according to a diplomatic source in Amman.
The releases come amid a general warming in relations between Israel and Jordan which, along with Egypt, is the only other neighbour to have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
The prisoners issue was discussed during a visit last month by the then Foreign Minister Hani Mulki to Jerusalem, who was the most senior Amman official to hold talks in Israel in nearly four years.
Jordan recently returned its ambassador to Israel, resuming top-level diplomatic relations which had been downgraded after the September 2000 outbreak of the Palestinian intifada.
Around 25 Jordanians are detained in Israel for security reasons, while another 50 are in prison for common law crimes and illegal residency in Israel.

04/21/2005 08:13 GMT