Israel began on Tuesday releasing more than 130 Palestinian prisoners in a move aimed at easing overcrowding in jails, public radio reported.  

Israeli Defense sources said the release, about one week earlier than previously decided, was not meant as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian National Authority but rather in an effort to relieve overcrowding in Israeli prisons.

These released prisoners were all nearing the end of their prison terms, and most would have been freed by the end of the year, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported, adding that most of these prisoners were convicted of relatively minor crimes, such as stone-throwing.

The Defense sources said earlier that discussions about the release began last month, and would take into effect next week after approval from Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.

The defense establishment has been perturbed by the problem of overcrowding in prisons. Since the beginning of this year, more than 2,500 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank. On Aug. 15, thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails launched an open-ended hunger strike, demanding better living conditions.

The mass strike came to an end after Israeli prisons authorities accepted some of their demands.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2004)