(Communicated by the Israel Prison Service)
In order to advance and strengthen the dialogue between the State Of Israel and the pragmatic elements in the Palestinian Authority headed by the President of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen and the legitimate government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Government of Israel decided on November 19, 2007 to shorten the term of imprisonment of approximately 450 Palestinian prisoners.
The Ministerial Committee appointed by the Government of Israel, confirmed on an individual basis, the release of 431 Palestinian prisoners.
The Government's decision was reached following the meeting of the Coordinating Committee, headed by the Director-General of the Ministry of Justice which included representatives of all the relevant authorities connected with the matter (Israel Security Agency, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Prison Service and Ministry of Justice) who examined the suitability of the Palestinian prisoners to the criteria fixed by Government Decision No. 606 dating from 27 July 2003.
In accordance with the decision of the Government, the list does not include prisoners with "blood on their hands".
It should be noted that the decision in respect to the prisoners release was conditional to the agreement of the relevant authorities and after considering any objections that were raised.