Israel agreed to free hundreds more Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, disappointing Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas’s hopes for a full amnesty but keeping a US-backed peace roadmap in motion.Abbas met Israeli PM Ariel Sharon at his Jerusalem residence and was promised that several hundred prisoners would be released, Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr told reporters.An Israeli government source said the list would be finalised after Sharon and Abbas hold separate meetings with US President George W. Bush in Washington later this month.Abbas has said the release of all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners is vital to boosting grassroots support for the plan. Sharon commended Abbas for coaxing a three-month truce from Palestinian militants in late June. ‘‘The PM told his counterpart that Israel cannot ignore the fact that recently terrorism and incitement have diminished significantly,’’ Sharon’s office said.But hours later, the army said an Islamic Jihad militant blew himself up accidentally while laying a mine for an Israeli patrol in Jenin. Islamic Jihad denied saying troops shot the man dead as he fled arrest. In another incident, an assailant thought to be Palestinian knifed and seriously wounded an Israeli pedestrian in Jerusalem, police said.With the prisoners’ list for release not yet final, Israeli officials said Sharon might relax criteria to enable members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were not involved in anti-Israeli attacks to go free. During their meeting, Abbas asked Sharon to lift restrictions on Palestinian leader Arafat as well as easing travel conditions for Palestinians. Sharon’s office said Israel would weigh removing some checkpoints, but made no mention of Arafat. (Reuters)
