Hamas Leader Promises to Free Political Prisoners
By VOA News
30 October 2008
A leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has promised to release political prisoners as a goodwill gesture.
Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday he decided to free the prisoners to set the tone for productive dialogue at upcoming Palestinian unity talks.
Hamas says it is holding about 20 political prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has invited Hamas and its factional rival, the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to meet for reconciliation talks in Cairo on November 9. The two factions have been divided since Hamas militants drove Fatah fighters out of Gaza in June 2007 and seized control of the territory.
Egypt has served as a mediator between Hamas and Fatah.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the Middle East next week to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
Spokesman Robert Wood says Rice will be in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories from November 5-9. He says she aims to achieve "lasting peace in the region" consistent with the goal of a two-state solution.
President Bush has voiced hope an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal can be reached before he leaves office in January. But Israeli and Palestinian officials have expressed doubt a final agreement will become reality by then.
In other news, Israel's defense ministry closed all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, following a suspected militant rocket attack from the area into Israel. Israeli officials did not say when they would reopen the border.
There were no casualties in the attack.
Israel imposed sanctions on Gaza after Hamas gained control of the territory last year. A truce agreement requires Israel to gradually allow more goods into Gaza if militants there stop attacking Israel.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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