The sources said that out of the 73 militants, 13 were given full amnesty, giving them complete freedom of movement. The other 60 are free to move within Palestinian Authority-controlled areas or in the Palestinian security headquarters they serve.

According to the sources, the gesture was made in the framework of 2007 amnesty agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Under the agreement, hundreds of members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades underwent a three-month probation period. Those who refrained from engaging in military activity against Israeli targets and surrender their weapons to the PA were pardoned accordingly and removed from Israel's wanted lists.

However, since the signing of the agreement Israel has killed about 10 Al-Aqsa members who were on its amnesty list, claiming they returned to their military activity. A number of others were detained under the same pretexts.

The PA and Israel are holding proximity peace talks through the US Middle East envoy George Mitchell. The direct peace talks between the two parties stopped when Israel waged a three-week offensive in Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009.

However, Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said the situation was still hard and uneasy.

Abu Rudaineh, who is accompanying Abbas to the US where the Palestinian president was scheduled to meet President Barack Obama later on Wednesday, told the Voice of Palestine radio that "things are still difficult and complicated."

The spokesman added that the "the ball is now in the field of the Israeli government, which has to select between peace and the current standstill."

According to Abu Rudaineh, "the peace process is facing big dangers due to the inflexibility of Israel." He added that the near future will have "important, sensitive and dangerous" effects on the negotiations.

In a related development, Israeli forces operating in the West Bank cities arrested six Palestinians near Jenin and Qalqilyah.

The four were taken to unknown locations for questioning by the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet, Israeli security sources said.