Israel delays prisoner decision until PM returns from U.S.

Israel announced a series of humanitarian gestures toward the Palestinians on friday, to be implemented in the days before and after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to Washington on Tuesday.

Among the moves annoucned are the removal of three key West Bank checkpoints, the reopening of West Bank roads to Palestinian traffic, the transfer of NIS 72 million in tax money held by Israel to the Palestinian Authority and the issuing of 8,500 permits for Palestinians to enter Israel to work.

The first stage will be the removal of three roadblocks in the Ramallah area, with the most important one slated for removal being the Surda checkpoint at the northern entrance to the city. This roadblock has greatly restricted Palestinian movement over the last two years. more