Hamas on Thursday freed 20 prisoners affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip.

The detainees came out Thursday afternoon from the central prison in the west of Gaza City.

On Wednesday, deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya announced that he ordered the release of the 20 prisoners during a good-bye ceremony to a group of Arab members of parliament.

Haneya, whose government controls Gaza since Hamas took over the coastal enclave in 2007, said the release of the prisoners was aiming at supporting stalled Egyptian efforts to broker reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

In October, Hamas refused an Egyptian proposal to reconcile with Fatah, which has been ruling the West Bank since it lost the Gaza Strip in deadly clashes with Hamas. Hamas wants Egypt to modify its offer in line with several reservations Hamas had raised.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2010)