August 26, 2008        
        
              Media Outlet: 
                    Agence France Presse (AFP)        
              Date: 
                    August 25, 2008        Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners on Monday in a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region to spur US-backed peace talks. The prisoners were welcomed by thousands of cheering supporters at an outdoor celebration at Abbas' headquarters in the Occupied.
