Israel: Prisoner release aims to 'energize the peace process'

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel agreed Sunday to release 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority president, an Israeli government spokesman said.

The prisoner release marks an effort to "energize the peace process," spokesman Mark Regev said.

"We want the Palestinians to understand that we want to live with them in peace. We are ready for historic reconciliation," he said. "And this sort of release, we are hopeful, will help create a more positive environment between Israelis and Palestinians, and support the process of negotiation, which is ongoing."

The Israeli Cabinet approved the release by a 16-4 vote. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought the prisoner release earlier this month after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel has taken similar steps in the past.

"This was a specific request from the Palestinian side," Regev said. "For the Palestinian people, the issue of prisoners is a very difficult issue, a sensitive issue, and we have answered positively to this request by the Palestinian leadership."

The prisoners will be released by August 25, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said earlier this month.

Asked if the group of prisoners will include jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, Erakat said the Palestinians raised his name but Olmert would not commit to releasing him.

At a U.S.-sponsored peace summit last year, Olmert and Abbas agreed to work toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of 2008, but it's unlikely the two sides will overcome the key obstacles to reach a deal by that time.

Olmert recently announced he will step down next month as Israeli prime minister when his Kadima Party elects a leader during its party primary.

Regev said the prisoner release is "an important confidence-building measure" that Israel hopes will show the Palestinian people that Abbas' government "can, in fact, deliver much more for their own people than the extremists, than the terrorists ever can."

All About Israel • Palestinian Politics • Ehud Olmert • Mahmoud Abbas