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| By Israel Insider staff June 14, 2008 |
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The Olmert government is reportedly willing to separate the issue of releasing the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit from a deal with Hamas to bring an illusory "quiet" to Gaza. The London-based 'al-Sharq al-Awsat' reported Saturday that Egyptian intelligence chief, General Omar Suleiman, had persuaded Israel to separate its demand to release kidnapped solider Gilad Shalit from negotiations over a ceasefire with Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, Suleiman promised that Shalit's captivity will be "the first order of business" after the truce is agreed upon. Hamas accepted Suleiman's proposal and said that it viewed the efforts to secure calm and prisoner exchanges as two separate issues. Hamas said "the price for Shalit was known to all those involved."
A delegation of Hamas officials arrived in Cairo Saturday to hear Israel's response to the truce proposal from Suleiman following the talks held there during the week by Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau. In an interview with Israel radio on Saturday, Gilad refused to verify or deny the report, but said Shalit remained a central issue in the Egyptian-brokered talks.
The Israeli government later issued a denial about the Shalit being dropped from the deal, but the denial suggested that, as reported, the issue of a prisoner exchange had been removed as a condition for a ceasefire deal, even though it remained part of a separate track of discussions.
Hamas' weekly news journal al-Risala reports that Hamas will accept the ceasefire deal only if it includes an Israeli commitment to open the Gaza border crossings.
Israel's cabinet decided this week to put off a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip and to "exhaust every opportunity" to reach a ceasefire deal. |
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