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Omar Suleiman, Egypt's chief of intelligence, urged Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, to push for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit. (file)
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| By Associated Press June 27, 2006 |
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Egypt is asking Hamas to release the kidnapped Israeli soldier, and has deployed 2,500 extra troops along border with Gaza to prevent an influx of Palestinians if Israel invades the Strip to free him, Egyptian officials said Tuesday.
Egypt's chief of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, has urged the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, who is in Syria, to push for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was seized by Palestinians militants on a raid from Gaza on Sunday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensivity of security matters.
Israel has massed tanks and soldiers on its Gaza frontier and threatened to move into the territory unless the soldier, who was captured Sunday, is released. It has also closed its crossings with the Gaza Strip, stopping all movement of people and goods.
An Israeli incursion into Gaza is likely to cause large numbers of Palestinians to flee to northern Egypt, where many have family members.
Beginning Monday, Egypt has deployed 2,500 members of the Central Security Forces, who answer to the Interior Ministry, along its northeatern border with Gaza. They are armed with heavy machine guns and armored vehicles. It has also imposed a night-time curfew on the inhabited areas along the border.
"Everything is expected, and the deployment is just a precautionary measure," an Egyptian official said.
A second official said Egypt's deployment of such a large force was also intended to prevent any possible attempt to smuggle the kidnapped soldier into Egypt. Palestinian security officials in Gaza have said the kidnappers might try to smuggle him into Egypt through a tunnel.
Speaking of Egypt's diplomatic efforts, the officials said Suleiman had called Mashaal, who lives in Damascus, and urged him to work for the soldier's release. The officials said Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz had asked Suleiman to intercede.
Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, which regards it as a terrorist organization.
The kidnapping has exposed divisions within Hamas, with the military wing claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and the political leadership saying it knew nothing about it.
"It seems there is a split between the two wings, and the military group is working separately from the Hamas-led government" of the Palestinian territories, said one of the Egyptian officials.
Aides close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the rival Fatah party, have alleged that the exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, ordered the attack in which the Israeli soldier was taken without consulting the Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territories
Abbas' senior security adviser, Jibril al-Rajoub, came to Cairo on Monday for talks with Suleiman.
Since Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip in September, the northestern border has presented a political challenge to Egypt.
On the one hand, the Cairo government needs to maintain tight security on the frontier for fear that Islamic extremists will cross over and join the militants who have been carrying out suicide bombings in the Sinai peninsula during the past two years.
On the other hand, Cairo fears a domestic and pan-Arab backlash if it is seen to be cracking down too hard on Palestinians from Gaza.
Last year Egypt helped convince Hamas and other Palestinian hard-line factions to observe a truce with Israel to enable the peace process to advance.
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