The cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided Sunday to set free 90 Palestinian prisoners, as a goodwill gesture to the President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas.

The measure was welcomed by officials from Abbas’ Fatah party, who asked for the release of all Palestinians detained in prisons across Israel.

A list containing the names of Palestinians set to leave Israeli jails will be released late Sunday, but changes can be made over the following 48 hours if Israelis do not agree with the release of any prisoner.

Israel said all those released do not have “blood on their hands,” referring to Palestinians imprisoned for being involved in attacks on Israeli nationals. Reportedly, all are Fatah supporters, because Hamas maintains its hard-line stance towards the Jewish state.

Initially, 100 prisoners were supposed to be released, but ten names were scratched out because they were allegedly involved in reprehensible actions targeting Israelis.

The release of Palestinian prisoners is one of the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a Fatah official said Sunday’s decision was “important and necessary,” but the dispute is far from being settled.

Most of the prisoners have been detained after September 2000 and were involved in, or planed attacks on Israeli nationals. Women and children have also been imprisoned since the uprising broke out seven years ago.

According to Abbas’ spokesman, “more than 11,000 Palestinians and some Arab brethren” are being held in Israeli detention facilities, “some are ill and aged, and some have spent more than 30 years in jail there.”

Through this gestures, the Jerusalem government aims to boost Abbas in his feud with Hamas and show that diplomatic measures provide conclusive results.

Meanwhile, Hamas also welcomed the decision, a spokesman saying “the release of any prisoner would end his suffering.”

“Israel is following the ‘revolving door’ policy in arresting and releasing Palestinians, where it arrests whenever it wants and frees whoever it wants. I believe that this is not accepted by our people,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

But Barhoum reiterated that Hamas will not change its attitude because “the only language the Israeli occupation forces understand is the language of force,” and Islamic movement believes “that force would oblige the occupation forces to free more prisoners.”

In July, 250 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel as a first goodwill gesture to Abbas. When they are released, the detainees must pledge to refrain from taking up arms again against the Jewish state.