Quds city, Oct 8, SPA -- Israel and the Palestinians have made some progress on new security arrangements for the Gaza-Egypt border, Palestinian officials said Saturday, ahead of a planned summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas this week. A border deal, brokered by international mediator James Wolfensohn, would allow Gazans relatively free movement for the first time and is seen as crucial for the economic development of the impoverished coastal strip. However, the two sides appeared to remain deadlocked on other issues, including the release of Palestinian prisoners and an Israeli troop withdrawal from additional West Bank towns. The Palestinians seek the release of all prisoners who have served more than 20 years in Israeli prisons, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday. However, Israel says it will not release those involved in attacks that wounded or killed Israelis, meaning most of those with long sentences would be ineligible. More than 7,000 Palestinians are held by Israel, including hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists seized in the past two weeks, according to a report of The Associated Press. The summit is tentatively set for Tuesday, but the date is not yet firm. Both sides have said it's better not to hold the meeting at all than to have it fail.
