Jerusalem  - An Israeli ministerial committee approved Sunday the release of 230 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice.

All the prisoners to be freed are identified with President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah movement, an Israeli government statement said, and none were jailed for action in which people were killed.

The full Israeli cabinet decided on the prisoner release on November 30.

Gaza - The Gaza Strip's power plant will shut down morning after consuming a limited shipment of fuel that was allowed into Gaza two days ago, Palestinian official said Saturday.

"The plant will close by early Sunday as the last amount of diesel ran out," said Jamal al-Derdasawi, an official at the station.

Gaza - Premier Ehud Olmert has been forced to withdraw his promise to release 250 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian sources said on Saturday.

According to the sources, the Palestinian Authority (PA) received a message from the caretaker Israeli government saying that "huge pressure was put on Olmert and forced him to review his promise" made to Abbas in Jerusalem last month.

Olmert faced pressure to halt the release of the prisoners until the release of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, who is presently in the hands of the Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip

HEBRON, West Bank, Dec. 5  -- The Palestinian National Authority says the international community should help limit settler violence in the West Bank.

Palestinian officials said violence against West Bank settlers in cities like Hebron should prompt a response from Israel and other members of the international community, The Jerusalem Post said Thursday.

Settlers from Hebron's Beit Hashalom building have been evacuated after a sudden increase of attacks on settlers in the city.

While Palestinian officials have praised the removal of the endangered settlers, they have urged Israel to remove all other Hebron settlers to avoid additional violence.

Ramallah  - The Palestinian Authority (PA) warned Thursday that clashes by Israeli settlers in Hebron and other West Bank areas could end the peace process.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned in a statement the settlers' attacks against Palestinian civilians in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

He held the Israeli government as "directly responsible for this serious escalation," demanding an immediate end to the attacks.

Amman - Hundreds of Jordanian trade unionists staged a sit-in before the Egyptian embassy Wednesday to press for the re-opening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and for lifting the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people there by Israeli troops.

The demonstrators chanted slogans and raised placards urging the Egyptian government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory and permit the sick to cross the border for treatment.

They also called on Arab governments and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "to give priority to the lifting of the Gaza siege", in implementation of a decision taken in this respect recently by Arab foreign ministers.