Fresh Violence Casts Shadow Over Middle East Peace Talks

The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will meet today to map out their vision for a Middle East peace deal.

The meeting in Jerusalem is expected to lay the groundwork for an international summit on the Middle East peace process due to take place in the US.

It comes a day after Israel completed the release of 86 prisoners as a goodwill gesture.

But apparent internal strife in the Palestinian territories yesterday between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions cast a shadow over preparations for the summit.

Four people were killed when a car exploded near the Hamas marine police headquarters in Gaza City, Hamas and hospital officials said.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which are affiliated with Fatah, said in a statement that three of the dead were members of their militia who were killed trying to launch an attack on Hamas. The group said the men died when Hamas militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at their car.

A website affiliated with Hamas said the three militants were on their way to bomb a Hamas installation but the explosives went off prematurely. The fourth man killed was a bystander, the statement said.

Hamas officials did not give any details about the incident after backing down from an earlier accusation that Israel was involved.

Hamas security forces arrested at least 15 relatives of the three men today in their neighborhood east of Gaza City, residents said.

Tensions between Hamas and Fatah have been high since the Islamic group seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. President Abbas has since thrown Hamas out of the government and formed a cabinet that has effective control only over the West Bank.

In further violence in Gaza, one Hamas fighter died and another three were injured in an explosion early today near the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. Hamas blamed the explosion on an Israeli air strike, but the Israeli army denied involvement.

In a gesture aimed at bolstering Mr Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas, Israel sent 29 Palestinians back to the Gaza Strip yesterday. It released 57 prisoners in the West Bank a day earlier.

Most of the freed prisoners are members of Mr Abbas's Fatah movement. None belong to Hamas.

Israel holds about 11,000 Palestinian prisoners. Because so many families have relatives in Israeli jails, securing their release is a high priority in Palestinian society. Israel said none of the prisoners released this week were convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis.

Israel approved this week's release of prisoners, which coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to help build trust before the peace summit.