Release of militants may give key boost to peace plan

ISRAEL may release a few dozen jailed Islamic militants along with several hundred other Palestinian prisoners, a move that could give a critical boost to lagging peace efforts, it was reported yesterday.

Palestinian officials said their Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, would stress the importance of prisoner releases when he meets Israeli premier Ariel Sharon tomorrow.

The release of prisoners is not directly called for in the internationally backed road map for Mideast peace, but it has become the first big sticking point for the plan, which aims to end nearly three years of fighting, settle the generations-old conflict and create a Palestinian state by 2005.