The Israeli cabinet approved Sunday morning the release of some 200 Palestinian security prisoners as a "goodwill gesture" to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The move, proposed by a ministerial committee headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, was approved in principle, 16 to 4. The three Shas ministers and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz opposed the plan.
On Monday, the committee will finalize the list of detainees scheduled to be set free. The list now includes two prisoners classified by Israel as having "blood on their hands" -- participants in terrorist attacks that resulting in Israeli fatalities. One murdered an Israeli, while the other dispatched others to carry out an attack. The two prisoners have served 30 years in jail. The target date for the release is next Monday, just before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returns to the region.
