JERUSALEM ? Responding to a close Israeli Cabinet vote to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced Sunday that both sides would meet in Washington to relaunch long-stalled direct peace talks.
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni was expected to begin preliminary discussions with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as early as Monday evening, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed that he had accepted Kerry's invitation to send Erekat to participate in what the State Department described as a preliminary meeting to establish a "procedural work plan" for negotiations in coming months.
Palestinian officials cautioned that some outstanding issues must be clarified before full-fledged negotiations can resume.
Underscoring the fragility of the environment, a dispute emerged Sunday over the identities of those prisoners slated for release. Israelis insisted that the list will not include any Arab Israeli prisoners, while Palestinians were demanding that about a dozen Arab Israelis be among the 104.
Nevertheless, Palestinians said Israel's concession would clear the way for them to join the U.S.-led process.
"I welcome the Israel government's decision," said Erekat. "Now we should focus on the opportunity the United States is providing for us and make sure we make every possible effort to reach our goals of creating two states."
Kerry, who had made the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks one of his top priorities, thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas for their cooperation.
"Both leaders have demonstrated a willingness to make difficult decisions that have been instrumental in getting to this point," Kerry said, according to a statement issued by his office. "We are grateful for their leadership."
Netanyahu had to work much harder than he anticipated to lobby his right-wing coalition partners to approve the prisoner release, which Palestinians demanded in exchange for returning to the negotiating table.
The vote was delayed by several hours Sunday as the prime minister pressured reluctant Cabinet members to support the measure, which will set free dozens of Palestinians convicted by Israel in the 1980s and 1990s of terrorist attacks against Israelis. Thirteen of Netanyahu's 22 Cabinet members voted in favor with seven opposed and two abstentions.
Outside the prime minister's office, more than 200 protesters, including family members of terrorist-attack victims, carried pictures of loved ones as they denounced Netanyahu for succumbing to pressure from Palestinians and the United States. Some held up hands covered in fake blood.
"This moment is not easy for me," Netanyahu said after the vote. "It is not easy for the ministers. It is not easy especially for the families, the bereaved families, whose heart I understand. But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the country and this is one of those moments."
He said the regional unrest caused by the "Arab Spring" was pushing Israel to settle its differences with Palestinians.
"I believe that resuming the diplomatic process at this time is important for the state of Israel both in order to try to bring about an end to the conflict and, given the complex reality in our region, especially the security challenges from Syria and Iran," Netanyahu said.
Conservative lawmakers scolded Netanyahu for agreeing to make concessions solely to bring Palestinians back to talks. Netanyahu had previously said he would not accept Palestinian preconditions.
Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir said after the vote that it marked the first time Israel had agreed to release prisoners convicted of terrorism as a gesture to restart talks rather than as an exchange for an Israeli captive or body. "This decision sets a dangerous precedent," he said.
Many were particularly opposed to the release of Arab Israeli prisoners who were convicted in Israeli courts of killing Jewish Israelis, saying Palestinians had no authority to represent Arab Israelis.
The names of the 104 prisoners have apparently not been determined. Netanyahu formed a committee of Cabinet members, which he will lead, to identify the prisoners to be released and set the timetable. Israeli Science Minister Yaakov Peri told the Israeli news site Ynet that no Arab Israelis would be included without further Cabinet approval.
Prisoners are expected to be set free in four stages over the next nine months, but releases will be contingent upon progress made at the negotiating table, Netanyahu said.
Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu won Cabinet approval for a draft bill that would require ? if passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament ? that any final peace deal be approved by voters in a referendum. The measure was seen as an effort to make right-wing lawmakers more receptive to the prisoner release.
The referendum bill ? which was pushed by Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett ? will be introduced as a so-called Basic Law, which is roughly comparable in Israel to a constitutional law in the United States. Israel has no constitution, but Basic Laws are intended to secure basic rights and trump other laws.
A similar referendum law was passed in 2010, but it was not a Basic Law and is currently being challenged in court.
Passage of a referendum could face difficulties in the Knesset. Some lawmakers fear that requiring a referendum puts another obstacle in the way of reaching a deal with Palestinians.
Others say using the referendum process sets a bad precedent for Israel's democracy, warning it will open the door for using referendums on other controversial issues, such as going to war, reducing the budget or expanding settlements. They insist such matters are better left to the elected representatives.
"Only a few months ago, the people elected its representatives to the Knesset and government to run the country on its behalf and make important decisions," said Zehava Galon, head of the liberal Meretz party, on her Facebook page. "Now, at the time of truth, these elected representatives are running away from their responsibility."
edmund.sanders@latimes.com
Special correspondent Maher Abukhater in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
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