Israel on Aug. 18 said two of its longest serving and most prominent Palestinian prisoners — a militant mastermind from the 1970s and a gunman elected to Parliament while behind bars — will be among some 200 Palestinian inmates to be freed as a goodwill gesture to embattled Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

A Palestinian woman holds a picture of a prisoner currently held in an Israeli jail during a pretest calling for the release of prisoners in Gaza City on Aug.18. AP PHOTO

While the move will give an important boost to the moderate Abbas, it drew fierce criticism from some Israeli politicians, who said the deal could undermine attempts to free a captured Israeli soldier held in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel's prisons service said the upcoming release would include Said al-Atba, who has served 32 years of a life sentence for planting a bomb, illegal military training and belonging to a banned group. Al-Atba, 57, is the longest-serving prisoner held by Israel and he is widely seen by the Palestinian public as a symbol for the prisoners.

The fate of the roughly 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails is highly emotional since many Palestinians either know someone in prison or have served time themselves. Abbas, who is struggling to show his people the fruits of drawn-out peace negotiations with Israel, has repeatedly urged Israel to carry out a large-scale release.

Sahar Francis, a prominent lawyer for Palestinian prisoners, said the planned release of al-Atba has given hope to 300 other long-serving prisoners with similar sentences that they too might be freed in the future.

"Prisoners are happy for everybody who is released, especially if they conducted attacks inside Israel and killed people," she said.