JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday that Israel would release a few hundred more Palestinian prisoners, and he agreed for the first time to a joint review of who should be freed, officials on both sides said.

Sharon´s statements came at his fourth meeting with Abbas since the Palestinian prime minister took office in April. They also come days ahead of separate trips to Washington by both leaders for talks with President Bush on advancing the Middle East peace plan, known as the "road map."

A prisoner release is not mentioned in the plan, but it is a major Palestinian demand and an emotional issue for both sides. Palestinians consider the detainees as fighters who have sacrificed for their cause, while Israelis view them as terrorists.

6,000 Palestinians held

Israel has about 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, and the demand for their release has been a focus of recent talks. A few hundred have been freed, but Israel refuses to release those involved in attacks that have killed or wounded its citizens. However, the Palestinians are demanding a general release.

Abbas has come under heavy public pressure to secure the release of more prisoners, with relatives of detainees demonstrating in the streets. Sharon has drawn criticism for freeing prisoners, and relatives of Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks have protested outside his office.

At Sunday´s meeting, Sharon said Israel was prepared to release more detainees, and the Palestinians demanded to participate in determining who would be freed.

"The prime minister informed us of an official decision to release hundreds of prisoners," said Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr, who participated in the meeting at Sharon´s residence.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said that "several hundred" prisoners would be freed after Abbas returned from his meeting Friday with Bush, and that an Israeli ministerial committee would finalize Wednesday a list of those to be released.

In response to the Palestinian demand to participate in choosing the prisoners to be freed, it was agreed that the head of Israel´s Shin Bet security service, Avi Dichter, would meet with the Palestinian Minister for Prisoners Affairs, Hisham Abdel Razek, to review the process. The two "will discuss the manner and conditions for the release of prisoners," a statement from Sharon´s office said.

The Palestinians are demanding the release of long-serving convicts and prisoners from the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The two groups, along with the mainstream Fatah movement, announced a suspension of attacks against Israelis on June 29, but they have warned that the cease-fire could collapse if Israel does not release the prisoners.

Another meeting of the Israeli ministerial committee on prisoners is planned after Sharon returns next week from Washington. The panel is expected to consider the release of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners who were not involved in attacks against Israelis.

"I think it is possible to free people from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with the obvious provision that they don´t have blood on their hands," said Gideon Ezra, a Cabinet minister on the committee.

Troop withdrawals on table

The talks between Sharon and Abbas also covered Israeli troop withdrawals from more West Bank cities, which were reoccupied a year ago in response to suicide bombings in Israel.

Amr said the Palestinians demanded that the pullouts include the removal of Israeli checkpoints that block travel out of and between their cities. An Israeli pullout from Bethlehem this month left checkpoints ringing the city, leading residents to complain that the withdrawal was cosmetic.

"We linked the withdrawal to the lifting of the closure," Amr said. "When they withdraw and remain around the city, there is nothing new in the everyday life of the Palestinians."

Sharon´s office said that Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz would hold immediate consultations to determine which checkpoints could be removed and a meeting would be held in the next few days with the Palestinian security chief, Muhammad Dahlan, to discuss the return of more cities to Palestinian control.

The Palestinians also demanded freedom of movement for Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who has been confined by Israel to his wrecked headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Sharon replied that Arafat was free to leave, but there was no guarantee that he could return, Gissin said. (Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune 07/21/03)