(Adds Rice-Abbas call, details)

By Adam Entous

JERUSALEM, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to announce next week a partial freeze in Jewish settlement activity, the release of up to 400 Palestinian prisoners and the removal of some West Bank travel restrictions.

Israeli government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday, said the gestures were meant to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and persuade Arab states like Saudi Arabia to attend a U.S.-sponsored conference on Palestinian statehood in the last week of November.

Preparations for the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, have been marred by disputes between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators over a joint document, though Israeli and American officials said agreement on the paper was not a requirement.

It is unclear whether a partial freeze in settlement building in the occupied West Bank and the release of between 300 and 400 Palestinian prisoners would satisfy key Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, which have sent mixed signals about whether they will attend the conference.

Government sources said Olmert would ask his cabinet on Monday to approve the release of the prisoners. They said Olmert would only agree to release prisoners who do not have "blood on their hands", a reference to deadly attacks against Israelis.

Abbas had sought the release of 2,000 prisoners.

The sources said Israel also planned to ease some travel restrictions in the West Bank, such as the removal of dirt mounds that limit travel around certain Palestinian villages. Israel has not lived up to similar pledges in the past.

Negotiators on both sides cast doubt on the prospects of reaching an agreement on the joint document meant to address in general terms "core" issues such as borders and the future of Jerusalem and millions of Palestinian refugees. "I don't think there will be a joint document," said a senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations, adding there were so many disagreements it would take a "miracle" to bridge them.

A new dispute between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators erupted this week over Olmert's demand that any future peace talks hinge on the Palestinians recognising Israel as a "state of the Jewish people".

SERIOUS EFFORTS

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Abbas to discuss the negotiations, an Abbas aide said. "There is still a need for serious efforts to resolve the obstacles which exist. It will require big efforts," the aide said.

The U.S. State Department said it believed the parties would agree on a joint document in time. Palestinian negotiators plan to visit Washington next week to try to finalise the details and U.S. officials said Rice was not expected to return the Middle East before the conference.

It is unclear how much of an impact a partial freeze in settlement activity will have on the ground and whether major settlement blocs -- which Israel intends to keep under a peace deal -- would be included. Olmert's top aides have been holding talks in Washington to work out the details.

Israel's Defence Ministry froze building permits several months ago to increase pressure on residents to leave dozens of illegal outposts. Olmert does not plan to remove outposts before the conference, government officials said.

Abbas said he would meet Saudi King Abdullah on Friday to try to reach a common stance on the conference. Saudi Arabia has sent messages to Israel through Western intermediaries casting doubt on its participation and expressing dissatisfaction with gestures offered by Olmert, diplomats said.

"We do not know if their behaviour is a pressure tactic or genuine hesitation," a senior Israeli official said.

Another senior Israeli official said: "We're willing to give and take with the Palestinians. But we're not going to pay a price to make sure a Gulf state appears." (Additional reporting by Wafa Amr and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, and Sue Pleming in Washington; Editing by Alison Williams)

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