MARQUMIYA CHECKPOINT, West Bank, Aug. 6 — Israel today released more than 330 Palestinian prisoners who were hugged, kissed and hoisted onto the shoulders of friends and relatives who greeted them at checkpoints in the West Bank and the entrance to the Gaza Strip.

The release, made without any new demands from the Israelis, was intended to bolster the sputtering peace negotiations. But it had the opposite effect. Palestinian leaders — and even those freed — described it as a hollow gesture, since most of the prisoners had only a short time left to serve.

The Palestinians said they would not be satisfied until Israel freed most or all of the roughly 6,000 Palestinians who remain imprisoned. But many have been directly involved in violence against Israelis, and Israel has stressed that it would not release such prisoners.

"Israel should release those serving life sentences, not people like me," said Ahmed Ghnamat, who had three months left on a five-and-a-half-year sentence for being a member of the Hamas faction and for manufacturing explosives.

Surrounded by family members, Mr. Ghnaimat, 24, said he did not want a big celebration. He said he was thinking of his brother, Abdel Rahman Ghnamat, who was convicted of leading a Hamas cell that killed several Israelis and is serving a life sentence.

Israel has stressed that it will not release Palestinians directly involved in violence against Israelis.

Israel was hoping to bolster the standing of Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, who has made the issue a top priority. But the Palestinians said their disappointment with the prisoner releases was the main reason that Mr. Abbas postponed a meeting today with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

In recent weeks, violence has been at its lowest levels since the fighting began almost three years ago, and Israelis and Palestinians have each taken limited steps to implement the peace plan. Yet there has been no letup in the daily recriminations. Today's events drove home the point.

Here at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, in a valley outside the West Bank city of Hebron, some Palestinian prisoners fell to their knees and kissed the steaming black asphalt as they emerged from buses that delivered them from Israeli prisons.

Muhammed al-Asafra, a 38-year-old member of Islamic Jihad, was mobbed by dozens of supporters from his home village nearby.

They had filled a truck and had arrived waving the black banner of Islamic Jihad, which, like Hamas, has carried out many of the suicide bombings against Israel.

Mr. Asafra had served more than four years and had only 40 days left. He was convicted of membership in Islamic Jihad and of undergoing military training.

"Israel wanted to create a big noise with this," the bearded Mr. Asafra said.

Israel demanded the prisoners sign a document pledging to "refrain from hostile activity" against Israel. But Mr. Asafra said this had no meaning. "We signed the paper only to satisfy Israeli public opinion," he said.

Today was the largest of several Israeli prisoner releases in the past few months and brought the total number of those freed to almost 600. Another 100 Palestinians jailed for common crimes, such as being in Israel illegally, will be freed soon, Israel says.

But Palestinians want prisoners freed by the thousands, not the hundreds. Israel says more prisoners could be let go if the peace talks progress but stresses that it is not obligated to do so.

"Releasing prisoners is something that is not part of the road map," said Arnon Perlman, an Israeli government spokesman. "It is something we are doing unilaterally as a trust-building measure."

Mr. Perlman continued, "At the same time, the Palestinians are not doing what they took upon themselves to do in the road map, which is true and continuous activity against the terrorist infrastructure,"

Shortly after the prisoners were freed, a Palestinian fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in the Gaza Strip, damaging a house, but causing no injuries, the Israeli military said.

Both sides point to steps they have taken to make the peace process work.

Israel has pulled back troops in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Bethlehem, but the soldiers still surround most West Bank cities. The army has removed some key checkpoints but still maintains dozens.

The Palestinians have installed Mr. Abbas as prime minister, and leading Palestinian factions declared a June 29 truce that is largely holding. The Palestinian security forces have prevented some terror attacks against Israel.

But none of these issues has been resolved, and the fate of Palestinian prisoners has become a major stumbling block.

Hisham Abdeul Razeq, the Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs, said Palestinian disappointment on four issues led to the cancellation of today's meeting between the prime ministers.

In addition to the prisoner issue, the Palestinians are opposing the barrier Israel is building against West Bank Palestinians. They are demanding Israeli troop withdrawals from all Palestinian cities in the West Bank and are seeking freedom of movement for the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, he said.