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| By israelinsider staff April 11, 2007 |
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed his disappointment over the Palestinian list of prisoners for release in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Ynetnews reported.
Olmert held an initial security meeting to discuss the list of prisoners given to Israel by Egyptian mediators on Tuesday. In attendance were Defense Minister Amir Peretz, head of the Shin Bet Yuval Diskin, head of the Mossad Meir Dagan, and former Shin Bet Deputy Chief Ofer Dekel, who Prime Minister Olmert has chosen to oversee the release of Shalit and the other kidnapped IDF soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
Following the meeting, the Prime Minister's office released a statement saying, "Disappointment and reservations were expressed over the list of prisoners whose release Hamas is seeking. Israel will continue contacts with Egypt on the issue."
The statement continued, "We would like to stress that although some progress has been made in the negotiations, a finalized deal is still far away, as we have been saying in recent days.
"Different publications on this issue should be treated with caution, in order not to create false expectations. Our hearts are with the Shalit family members and we support them in their strong standing over the past few months and in the face of the recent publications, which definitely do not reduce their ongoing suffering."
Defense establishment sources claimed that the Palestinian list of prisoners is unacceptable due to its inclusion of major terrorists convicted of killing many Israelis; in other words, those "with blood on their hands." At Tuesday's meeting, the idea of limiting the number of prisoners "with blood on their hands" who could be released was also discussed.
After Tuesday's meeting, Israel was expected to return the list to the Egyptian mediators with notes and modifications. Meanwhile, Israeli Knesset ministers will begin discussing the list and once the conditions of the exchange are agreed upon, the matter will be passed to the cabinet for final approval.
The submission of the list was considered an important development in the talks, since they were previously impasse.
On Tuesday Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk said that the ''ball is now in Israel's court.'' Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees have said that if Israel refuses to accept the Palestinian prisoner list, then the deal for the exchange may fall apart.
The Prime Minister will most likely discuss the prisoner exchange issue with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when they meet next week. |
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