( Haaretz ) Ashraf al- Ajrami , the Palestinian Authority minister for prisoners affairs, met this week with Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and demanded that all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails be freed in the coming months, Ajrami told Army Radio on Friday.
Included in the demand, Ajrami said in the interview, would be imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti , who is serving five life sentences for the murder of four Israelis and a Greek monk, and who senior Israeli politicians have said they would consider releasing.
Dichter refused to respond to Ajrami's statements, according to Army Radio.
"We want the release of all the prisoners within a few months," Ajrami said in the interview.
" Dichter didn't say at the meeting that he would free Barghouti because he has a firm opinion on this matter, but we always talk about the need to free prisoners. Everything is now dependent on negotiations between the two sides," he continued.
Dichter had denied that he discussed freeing Palestinian prisoners with Ajrami , but on Friday morning, he softened his denial and said only that he was unwilling to discuss the contents of the meeting.
Ajrami is expected to visit Barghouti in jail next week.