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Hours before the cabinet was due to deliberate on the release of 150 to 200 Palestinian prisoners , Defense Minister Ehud Barak hosted Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad at his Tel Aviv home on Saturday night, where the two discussed the peace process. Barak promised that Israel would continue to work to ensure the success of Palestinian efforts to assume security control in Jenin and extend the model to other West Bank citiies. The defense minister also declared that Israel would continue supporting projects to boost Palestinian economy in the West Bank. Fayad and Barak also reviewed a series of steps implemented by Israel in recent months to ease up restrictions imposed on Palestinians living in the West Bank, including the removal of checkpoints and issuing additional work permits.08/17/08