ISRAEL GRANTS AMNESTY TO TERRORISTS; FATAH VOWS NO TERROR

Olmert confirms amnesty deal for wanted Fatah gunmen (YNet)
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has confirmed Saturday reports of a deal according to which Israel will stop chasing dozens of wanted Fatah gunmen in the West Bank if they agree to disarm.

The agreement, which is aimed at bolstering Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was first published by Ynet Friday evening.

Officials in Jerusalem stressed that Zakariya Zubeidi was not on the list of some 180 wanted Fatah men Israel is expected to pardon, but the al-Aqsa Brigades leader said Palestinian Authority officials have informed him that he would be included in the deal.

According to the deal, the pardoned Fatah members will be permitted to join the Palestinian security services but will be prohibited from carrying arms.

Fatah Gunmen Agree to End Attacks on Israel in Exchange for Amnesty (FOXNEWS)
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Scores of Fatah militants in the West Bank have signed a pledge renouncing attacks against Israel in return for an Israeli promise to stop pursuing them, a Palestinian security official said Sunday.

The deal would grant amnesty to 178 Fatah gunmen who will join the official Palestinian security forces, and Israel will remove them from its lists of wanted militants, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details of the agreement.

An official in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office confirmed the deal would extend to wanted militants who openly renounce terrorism, and was part of a series of measures to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.