Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is poised to free 540 Palestinian prisoners as he seeks to ease US concern tomorrow over a planned West Bank security fence.
Mr Sharon arrived in the United States last night and will meet President George W. Bush at the White House to discuss the US-backed peace "road map" for Israel and the Palestinians.
He says the fence is intended to keep Palestinian suicide bombers out of the Jewish state's cities.
Palestinians fear the fence, due to cut deep into West Bank territory, is intended to unilaterally set the borders of their envisaged state by ensuring large tracts of West Bank land are on the Israeli side of the barrier.
Mr Bush expressed concern over the fence, which he called "a problem," after talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Friday.
"It is very difficult to develop confidence between the Palestinians and Israel with a wall snaking through the West Bank," Mr Bush said.
The imminent release of 540 Palestinian prisoners will include 210 Islamic militants and 210 prisoners from President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.
It was the first time Israel had issued detailed figures of its planned prisoner release, which is intended to boost the US-backed road map and help Mr Abbas gain popular support to implement it.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr welcomed the decision to free the prisoners but called for more of the 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli custody to be released.