Israel to release Palestinian prisoners: minister

JERUSALEM: Israel will release a "limited" number of Palestinian prisoners, government minister Yuval Steinitz said on Saturday, a day after the US announced direct peace talks will resume between the two sides.

"There will be a limited release of (Palestinian) prisoners," Steinitz, the minister in charge of international relations, strategic affairs and intelligence, told public radio without giving numbers.

He said some of those to be freed have been in Israeli jails for up to 30 years.