After several days of intense wrangling, Israeli and Palestinian officials have announced that they have cleared the last major obstacle in the way of signing a revised Wye River peace accord and resuming formal peace negotiations. The dispute was over the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released. Palestinian negotiators demanded the release of some 400 prisoners, who are regarded as heroes fighting for statehood. The Israelis had offered to release 356 prisoners, refusing to free Palestinians "with blood on their hands" - those jailed for killing Israelis. Although one disagreement remains, a clause in the accord on a ban on either side taking unilateral actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it is expected that the accord will be signed Saturday night, after the Jewish sabbath, in Egypt with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in attendance. The sites listed provide information about this historic peace accord.
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