Shalit may get Red Cross visit

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday that the Palestinian kidnappers of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit may permit representatives of the organization to visit him. 

Angelo Gnaedinger made the statement after meeting with the Hamas leader of the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh. "We asked for access to him and the possibility for him to communicate through us with his family," he told reporters after the meeting.

"We have been told that this is under consideration and that everybody is working on a positive solution for this case and that the humanitarian aspects are being take care of."

Haniyeh released a statement calling for a solution, but he did not refer to a possible Red Cross visit. "We hope we can reach a swap agreement that can end the suffering of the Palestinian prisoners and close the Shalit file," he said. "There are intensive efforts in this regard."

In late August, Haniyeh's diplomatic advisor, Dr Ahmed Yusef, said the Hamas leadership is interested in speeding up the prisoner swap deal for Shalit's release.  Yusef called on the Israeli government to make a goodwill gesture "as the Hamas movement did when it released an audio tape of Shalit in order to calm his family down."

The tape in question, in which the young soldier sent greetings to his family and reported that his health was detoriating and that he urgently needed hospitalization, featured on an Islamic website in June.  

Efforts to negotiate a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, have repeatedly foundered.

Roee Nahmias contributed to this report