By DPA
Tel Aviv : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a conference of his ruling Kadima party that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was a partner for peace and said he would propose releasing some Palestinian prisoners.
“We cannot ignore the fact that the elected leader of the Palestinian people, President Abu Mazen, believes like we do that the solution of the conflict is possible only through dialogue,” Olmert said, referring to the Palestinian leader by his nickname, shortly after a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Olmert said he would propose releasing Palestinian prisoners “without blood on their hands” – an Israeli phrase meant to imply that they were not directly involved in militant attacks.
He said he would release only those who support Abbas’ moderate government.
Olmert said that in his recent four meetings with Abbas, the two began to build trust, and he hoped that by November, when a US-sponsored conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is expected to take place, the two leaders would be able to publish a joint statement clarifying their understandings.
However, Abbas’ aids have warned that he and other moderate Arab leaders would not attend unless Olmert offered a far-reaching agreement leading to significant breakthroughs, as opposed to a less binding “statement”.