The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has accused the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, of lying to his own people over the terms of the latest peace agreement.

Mr Netanyahu told reporters that he had never agreed to release Palestinian prisoners who, as he put it, have blood on their hands.

Palestinian leaders have complained that Israel has so far freed mainly petty criminals and not political detainees.

More than two-thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are now said to be on hunger strike over the issue.

A BBC correspondent in Jerusalem says the row is casting a cloud over a planned visit by President Clinton next week.