JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought wide Arab support on Monday for a U.S.-led peace conference by agreeing to release 441 Palestinian prisoners and reaffirming a pledge not to build new Jewish settlements.
Olmert held talks in Jerusalem with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a last-ditch bid to narrow differences a week ahead of the Annapolis, Maryland meeting.
Olmert did not say in earlier remarks to his cabinet if he would freeze construction within existing settlements in the occupied West Bank, as sought by the Palestinians and the United States. A senior Palestinian negotiator, latching on to the uncertainty, called Olmert's comments "nonsense".
"Let's be honest. We committed ourselves in the 'road map' not to build new settlements," Olmert said, referring to a stalled 2003 peace plan promoted by Washington.
"There will be no new settlements and no land confiscations" from the Palestinians, he told ministers.
Israel has not built a new settlement in the West Bank in nearly 10 years but has pressed on with construction in existing ones. In addition, settlers have set up several dozen hilltop outposts without government approval.
Olmert repeated at the cabinet session a long-standing promise to remove the outposts, but again set no date.
In a gesture to Abbas, he also won cabinet approval to release 441 Palestinian prisoners, a government official said.
All were members of Abbas's Fatah faction "without blood on their hands" and could go free as early as Friday after a review of a release list by a ministerial committee, the official said. Abbas had wanted 2,000 freed.
SAUDI PARTICIPATION
