Sharon¡¯s briefing took place at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.

BEIJING, Feb. 7 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon briefed ministers on Sunday ahead of meetings this week with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will host Tuesday's summit, which sees the first face-to-face talks between Sharon and Abbas since the latter was elected early last month.

    Sharon¡¯s briefing took place at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.

    Israel has signaled it will consider freeing some Palestinian prisoners involved in attacks on Israelis, defusing a crisis with the Palestinian Authority ahead of the summit.

    Israel initially said it would not release those involved in attacks, prompting Palestinian complaints that a planned release of 900 prisoners was not far-reaching enough. The dispute overshadowed summit preparations.

    But late on Saturday the two sides agreed to form a joint committee to review files of additional prisoners, including those involved in attacks. The formation of the committee will be announced at the summit.

    Ehud Olmert, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, said, "I think we have to try and be as flexible as possible with regard to some of the requests of the Palestinians, but that doesn't mean we that have to accept every single request that they have. We'll have to examine it in a flexible and generous way."

    The Palestinians want to have a say in which prisoners are released and seek freedom for large numbers of inmates, including those involved in Attacks.

    Meanwhile in Gaza, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting with the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, the Palestinian ruling movement. On Saturday, Fatah said it welcomed the summit and saw it as an important step in pushing the peace process forward.

    (Source: CCTV.com)