Negotiations surrounding the release of kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit have been held up because of controversy surrounding the Shaked Spirit documentary ,said a senior Hamas official Friday.
Head of Hamas' faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council Khalil al-Haya said in a Friday afternoon sermon that the organization is trying to reach a conclusion to the Shalit affair, concurrent with the formation of a unity government in the Palestinian Authority.
In his sermon, al-Haya said that the documentary, which stated that soldiers from an elite IDF unit had killed Egyptian prisoners of war during the Six Days' War in 1967, had created an obstacle in negotiations, which are mediated by the Egyptians.
Nonetheless, "contacts have not ceased," he said.
According to al-Haya, "the prisoner exchange issue is progressing, and will progress simultaneous to the creation of a unity government. When the negotiations will ripen to the point of a deal, we'll announce it."
It should be noted that senior Hamas officials have announced a near-end to the Shalit affair several times in recent months, all yielding no concrete results.
The Hamas legislator added that the identity of the future PA Interior Minister continues to constitute a central obstacle in unity government talks.