ARABS-ISRAEL - July 6 - Israel Agrees To Release 300 Jailed Palestinians.

Israeli government votes 10 to 10 with two abstentions to release more than 300 Palestinian prisoners in the coming days. The government places numerous conditions for the releases. Most of those to be freed are being held under "administrative detention", which allows suspects to be held for renewable six-month stretches without charges being filed. Women, prisoners under age 18 and over age 60 will also be given priority. Prisoners belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad will not be freed. (The release of Palestinian militants addresses a key PA demand in the peace negotiations but falls far short of meeting it. Both Israelis and Palestinians protested in the streets. Outside PM Sharon's office, Israelis who lost family members in terror attacks held up posters of those killed and demanded that Sharon's government keep closed the jail cells of Palestinians convicted of violence. In Gaza City, Palestinians marched and raised placards of some of the roughly 5,500 prisoners seized by Israel during the current round of fighting that began in late-Sept. 2000. PA officials insisted that all be released if peace talks are to progress). But PM Sharon told Israeli cabinet: "There is no way prisoners with blood on their hands will be released". The prisoner issue is a highly emotional one on both sides and could improve the climate for negotiations if increasing numbers of prisoners are allowed to go home, and the level of violence remains low. PM Mahmoud Abbas has made the releases a top priority, and it is one of the quickest and most tangible ways he can demonstrate to Palestinians that he is winning concessions in talks with Israel. Abbas has met with Sharon four times in recent weeks, and another session is expected this week. Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz said following the cabinet meeting: "We have an interest in seeing that the new Palestinian government is strong. Those being released now are not murderers. We have to look to the future, and if we want less killing, and less terrorism, we will have to be flexible on this issue". But PA officials are demanding freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, while Sharon's government appears willing to release them by the hundreds if relative calm prevails, but not by the thousands. Qadoura Fares, a Palestinian legislator and president of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, said: "The Israeli government should not make these decisions unilaterally. What we are demanding is a joint Palestinian-Israeli committee that negotiates the criteria and approves the names of those to be released". In another development, Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said talks with PA security chief Muhammad Dahlan were "very positive" and that the number of Palestinian attacks was down recently. PA officials demand additional Israeli troop withdrawals from West Bank towns, to follow up on last week's pullout from Bethlehem and much of the Gaza Strip (see last week's Recorder). Mofaz said: "We are ready to continue to hand over other cities. It will be done gradually".