Abbas asks U.S. help to free jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) at the White House in Washington March 17, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Washington to mediate with Israel for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian leader and possible presidential contender jailed a decade ago over a spate of suicide bombings.

Israel agreed last year to free 104 Palestinian prisoners in what it termed a gesture of goodwill to mark the resumption of direct, U.S.-backed peace talks. But Barghouti was excluded from this and occasional previous releases and the talks have since faltered with Washington struggling to keep them alive.