JERUSALEM, March 18 (Reuters) - A committee of Israeli ministers and legal officials considered on Wednesday what actions they can take to toughen prison conditions for convicted Hamas and Islamic Jihad inmates.

The committee was named on Tuesday by outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who announced the failure of negotiations to free a captive Israeli soldier in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israel's jails.

After their meeting, a spokesman for Justice Minister Daniel Friedman said a panel would examine ways to limit visiting rights, access to television and radio, reduce personal money allowances and deny the right to academic study to prisoners.

Israel has some 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in its jails, hundreds of whom are members of the Islamist groups.

Friedman said the committee could also propose further "limiting the transfer of goods" into the Gaza Strip, or tightening Israel's blockade of the coastal territory, which Western nations have been seeking to relieve.

Israel said on Tuesday it would continue to allow only vital humanitarian goods to reach Gaza until Shalit was freed. The soldier was captured by militants who tunnelled into Israel in 2006. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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