Israel said on Monday that it would free two prominent Palestinian prisoners — Said al-Atba, who has served 32 years of a life sentence, and Mohammed Abu Ali, who was elected to the Palestinian Parliament while behind bars — among 199 inmates to be released as a good-will gesture to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president. The move drew fierce criticism from some Israeli politicians, who said it could undermine attempts to free a captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was being held in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.